Francis W. Parker School (Chicago)

Francis W. Parker School
Francis W. Parker's main entrance in 2007
Location
330 W. Webster Ave. Chicago , Illinois 60614 United States
Coordinates	41°55′22″N87°38′16″W / 41.9227°N 87.6379°W / 41.9227; -87.6379
Information
School type	Private school
Motto	Everything to help and nothing to hinder [1]
Established	1901(124 years ago) (1901) [1]
Founder	Francis Wayland Parker [1]
Status	Open
CEEB code	140830 [2]
Principal	Dan Frank [3]
Employees	265
Grades	Pre-kindergarten–12
Gender	Mixed-sex education
Age	4to 18
Enrollment	940 (2025–26)
Student to teacher ratio	6:1
Education system	Progressive education
Campus size	6 acres
Campus type	Urban
Colors	Blue and white     [4]
Song	We Thy Children
Athletics conference	Independent School League
Sports	Baseball, Basketball, Cross country running, Field hockey, Golf, Robotics, Scholastic bowl, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track and field, Volleyball
Mascot	The Colonel The Eagle
Team name	Colonels [4]
Rival	Latin School of Chicago
Accreditation	North Central Association of Colleges and Schools [5]
Newspaper	The Weekly
Yearbook	The Record
School fees	$520–$3,690 [6]
Tuition	$43,070 (Pre-kindergarten–5th) $47,400 (6th–12th) [6]
Website	www.fwparker.org

The Francis W. Parker School is a private school in Chicago, Illinois, serving students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. Located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, the school is based on the progressive education philosophies of John Dewey and Colonel Francis Wayland Parker, emphasizing community and citizenship. ^[7] Tuition and fees range from $43,070 to $47,400. ^[6]

History

In 1899, Anita McCormick Blaine, interested in the unconventional education philosophy of Francis Wayland Parker, convinced him to establish an independent school in Chicago's North Side with her financial backing. ^[8]

Founded in 1901, Parker boasts the first official parents' association as well as one of the first school newspapers to be written, typeset, and printed by students: The Parker Weekly, which began publishing in 1911. ^[9]

Parker has 946 ^[10] students, and has undergone considerable physical renovation between 2000 and 2009. Parker added an AstroTurf field which started construction in June 2012, and it was finished in September 2012. During the 2008–09 school year, the Auditorium was completely renovated, with new classrooms, more seating, office space and a balcony. In the 2016–17 school year, renovation began for the new Kovler family library. The new library includes a balcony, reading nooks, a Lego table, and movable bookshelves. ^{[11] [12]}

Parker school formerly published Schools: Studies in Education, a national education journal featuring the narrative and analytic reflections of educators and students nationwide. ^[13]

Student activities

Athletics

Parker is part of the Independent School League (ISL) athletic conference, ^{[14] [15]} and its team name is the Colonel named after the school's founder, Colonel Francis Wayland Parker. In addition to Parker's colonel mascot, a new eagle mascot nicknamed "the Eagle" was introduced as an additional mascot as a way to better connect with younger students. ^[16]

Notable alumni

Daryl Hannah

Lori Greiner

David Mamet

Ayanna Pressley

• Robert McCormick Adams Jr. – anthropologist
• Paul Adelstein – actor ( Prison Break , Private Practice , Intolerable Cruelty )
• Jonathan Alter – journalist, author, and editor for Newsweek ^[17]
• Jennifer Beals – actress ( Flashdance , Devil in a Blue Dress , The L Word ) ^[17]
• Natalie Bergman – singer-songwriter
• Margaret Bonds – composer, pianist, and activist
• Leslie Buchbinder – documentary filmmaker
• Seth Caplan – film producer
• Sir Henry Channon – member of parliament (U.K.) and diarist ^[18]
• Gordon Davis – lawyer and civic leader
• Carl Diehl – college football player
• Bobby Florsheim – screenwriter
• Eric Forsberg – filmmaker
• Matt Friend – comedian
• Chuck Gelatka – professional football player
• Edward Gorey – writer and illustrator
• Virginia Graham – talk show host
• Lori Greiner – television personality and entrepreneur ( Shark Tank ) ^[19]
• Justin Hall – pioneer blogger
• Daryl Hannah – actress ( Blade Runner , Splash , Kill Bill: Volume 1 , Kill Bill: Volume 2 ) ^[17]
• Sarah Haskins – comedian
• Anne Heche – actress ( Donnie Brasco , Psycho , Six Days, Seven Nights ) ^[17]
• Katharine Holabird – author
• Celeste Holm – Oscar-winning actress ( Gentleman's Agreement , Come to the Stable , All About Eve )
• Arnold Horween – professional football player
• Ralph Horween – professional football player
• Peter Jacobson – actor ( House , Colony )
• Ian Keith – actor ( The Big Trail )
• Eric Klinenberg – sociologist and author
• Karyn Kupcinet – actress ^[20]
• Amy Landecker – actress ( Transparent )
• Kate Levant – artist
• Ellen Lewis – casting director ( Goodfellas , A League of Their Own, The Devil Wears Prada , The Wolf of Wall Street ) ^[21]
• Ron Lieber – journalist
• Eugene Lipov – physician and medical researcher
• Kevin A. Lynch – urban planner and author
• Jeff Lyon – journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner
• Arthur Maling – author
• David Mamet – playwright ( Glengarry Glen Ross ), author, and screenwriter ( The Verdict , Wag the Dog ) ^[17]
• Joan Mitchell – artist best known for her painting in the abstract expressionism movement ^[17]
• NeonSeon – author
• Elise Paschen – poet
• Alicia Patterson – editor and publisher
• Harriet Pattison – landscape architect
• Edith Pattou – author
• Alan Pierson – conductor, co-founder of the Alarm Will Sound ensemble, ^[22] Artistic Director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic
• Mark Pincus – founder of social game company Zynga
• Ayanna Pressley – U.S. congresswoman ^[23]
• Jay Pritzker – entrepreneur^{[ citation needed ]}
• Jennifer Pritzker – founder of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, first and only known transgender billionaire, member of the Pritzker family
• Sue Pritzker – socialite, activist, and philanthropist
• Barney Rosset – entrepreneur, publisher
• Dorothea Rudnick – embryologist
• Jeremy Sisto – actor
• Brad Thor – author
• Ping Tom – civic leader
• Carleton Washburne – educator and author
• Jacob Weisberg – journalist and editor of Slate ^[17]
• Joe Weisberg – television show creator ( The Americans , The Patient )
• Jordan Weisman – founder of FASA & WizKids
• Haskell Wexler – cinematographer ( Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , Bound for Glory ) ^[17]
• Jim White – professional football player
• Hillary Wolf – child actress and two-time U.S Olympian in judo
• Billy Zane – actor ( Back to the Future , Dead Calm , Titanic )
• Lisa Zane – actress and vocalist

References

1. A Brief History of Francis W. Parker School, Francis W. Parker School, 2010, archived from the original on September 16, 2009, retrieved April 4, 2010
2. High School Code Search, College Board, archived from the original on August 30, 2009, retrieved April 4, 2010
3. From Our Principal, Francis W. Parker School, 2010, archived from the original on March 22, 2010, retrieved April 4, 2010
4. Chicago (F.W. Parker), Illinois High School Association (IHSA), April 1, 2010, retrieved April 4, 2010
5. "Institution Summary for Francis W. Parker School", AdvancED profile, North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement, retrieved April 4, 2010
6. "Francis W. Parker School Tuition | Located in Lincoln Park, Chicago". www.fwparker.org. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
7. "Francis W. Parker School, Chicago". www.fwparker.org. Archived from the original on September 16, 2009. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
8. "Building for a Long Future: The University of Chicago and Its Donors, 1889-1930".
9. The Francis W. Parker School yearbook, Volume 1
10. "Parker | Chicago | Discover Parker". www.fwparker.org. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
11. "$5 Million New Library in Works for Francis Parker School - Lincoln Park - DNAinfo Chicago". Archived from the original on April 15, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
12. Construction Complete: North Wing Renovation, Auditorium Renovation and Fourth Floor Addition Archived March 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , Francis W Parker School
13. Francis W. Parker School Studies in Education, "The Individual and the Curriculum", The Elementary School Journal, September 1920
14. "Conferences & Affiliated Schools | Schools | IHSA".
15. Athletics
16. "Introducing the Newest Member of the Colonel Crew!". September 22, 2017.
17. Akouris, Tina (February 10, 2009), "Francis W. Parker: A legacy of individual, team titles", Chicago Sun Times, retrieved April 4, 2010^{[ permanent dead link ]}
18. Carreno, Richard (2011). Lord of Hosts: The Life of Sir Henry 'Chips' Channon. Philadelphia, PA: WritersClearinghousePress. pp. 43–46. ISBN   978-1-257-02549-7.
19. "Francis W.Parker School". Chicago Business. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
20. Felsenthal, Carol (July 11, 2007). "The Lost World of Kup". chicagomag.com. p. 6. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
21. Dinello, Dan (October 29, 1999) "Casting Director Puts Faces in Proper Places". The Oregonian. p. E5. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
22. March 2008 Alumni e-Newsletter Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine , Parker Alumni Community
23. Katharine Q. Seelye, Astead W. Herndon: Ayanna Pressley Seeks Her Political Moment in a Changing Boston. In: The New York Times , 1 September 2018.

External links

• Official Site