What You Need to Know About Bullying by Maryln Appelbaum

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Parker School Uniforms

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We are excited to welcome Maryln Appelbaum as our first guest-blogger.  We  introduced Appelbaum to you last fall.  As you may recall, she is co-owner and co-founder of Appelbaum Training Institute (“ATI”) and the author of over 30 how-to books geared exclusively to educators and parents.  Appelbaum, who has a doctorate in Psychology and Master’s degrees in both Psychology and Education, has been working with children since 1973 as a therapist, teacher, headmaster and consultant for families and schools.   With last week’s release of the documentary, Bully (http://action.thebullyproject.com/), we thought it was a great time to call on Appelbaum for her thoughts on the very difficult subject of bullying.  She kindly shared with us the following:

The incidents of bullying continue to grow, not only in the United States, but all over the world.  The percentage of kids who have been victimized has increased by fifty percent, and that is only the cases we know about.  Keep in mind that most kids do not report the bullying. The problem begins as early as preschool.  Ten years ago, it was found that twenty percent of kindergartners had been exposed to bullying.  That was ten years ago.  You can bet that the numbers have grown and continue to grow.  Our company, Appelbaum Training Institute, has offered an early childcare training on the topic of “mean kids.”  Participants came because they needed solutions on how to handle “all about me” toddlers and preschoolers who hurt others.  When we offer another special training class we have developed, Hallway Heroes, to counter bullying in elementary, middle, and high schools, we also get large audiences.  The following are some important facts everyone should know about bullying:

1.  If you are reading this, and live in suburbia, you may think your child is immune.  If you live in a rural environment, you too may think your child is immune.  That is not true.  There is a very similar incidence rate of bullying regardless of whether students come from urban, suburban, or rural environments.

2.  One of the saddest facts about bullying and cyber-bullying, is the high percentage of kids who are victims that say bullying caused them to have problems.  Ninety percent of kids say that bullying affected their lives.  They become nervous and anxious, and it is difficult to study.  They may develop emotional and physical problems.

3.  Bullying almost always occurs in places where there is little or no adult supervision.  This can be in school in places like the playground, hallways, and cafeteria, or even the classroom before classes begin.  The sad fact is that there is also no adult supervision of the internet and social media sites and cell phones.  That is a major reason why the incidence of bullying has grown to such a huge extent.

4.  Bullying behaviors are exasperated by the fact that when some adults see it, they do nothing.  One study showed that teachers supervising kids bullying others in the lunchtime cafeteria turned a blind eye, mistaking the aggressive bullying behavior for play.  This type of night blindness is compounded when adults see boys being aggressive to others and say, “Boys will be boys.” There is no reason for boys or girls to be mean to others.  It is not a sign of manhood for a boy to harm other kids.  It is instead a sign there is something fundamentally wrong with the child, something that needs to be fixed.

5.  Bullying can be deadly.  Adults need to take it seriously.  One of the reasons kids don’t report it, is that they don’t believe that adults will really intervene.  The story of Phoebe Prince in Massachusetts in the spring of 2010, is a classic example.  Phoebe had been the victim of vicious bullying and cyber-bullying.  Her mother had contacted school officials several times for help, but no one helped.  Even the day she committed suicide, apparently school officials saw kids harassing her in the school library, and did nothing.  After she died, there were more disparaging messages written on a Facebook page that had been created in her memory.  How many kids have to die before adults take it seriously and do something about it?

Please take bullying seriously.  If you have a gut feeling that your child may be involved in bullying, follow through on that gut feeling.  If you suspect that your child may be a victim of bullying, follow through on that.  The life you save, may be the life of your own child.  If we can help you in any way, feel free to call 800-23-CHILD.  Join me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ATISEMINARS.

Let’s all work together to keep kids safe.

 

 

 

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School Lunches Done Right

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Parker School Uniforms

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Vending machines or no vending machines? How much sodium is too much?  How do you provide a healthy lunch at an affordable price?  As childhood obesity has grown ever more prevalent, these questions and others like them have become important for school administrators to consider and address.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “the percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 20% in 2008.  Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to 18% over the same period (http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm).”

Although the majority of our children’s eating habits are established within our homes, we cannot ignore the fact that a significant amount of student’s calories each week come from school lunches.  Children who are encouraged and able to make healthy eating choices while at school are at an advantage compared to those who are not.  With that in mind, we want to highlight one company who makes it their mission to provide students with that healthy advantage – SAGE Dining Services (“SAGE”).   Although several of Parker’s schools contract with SAGE, we decided to make a lunchtime visit to Annunciation Orthodox School (“AOS”), based on the positive feedback we received about SAGE from a vocal AOS parent.  Located near the museum district in Houston, AOS (http://www.aoshouston.org) is a 715 student school serving ages 3 years through 8th Grade.  For 7 years, AOS has contracted with SAGE to provide all of their cafeteria-related services. Jason Cammack, Food Service Director at AOS, and Cissy Winn, the AOS Controller, gave us our tasty tour.  We found that, in addition to the beautiful and flavorful lunch choices SAGE offers, they also have a balanced approach to food that works for children or adults, at school or at home.

First, SAGE tries not to categorize foods as good, bad or even healthy.  Instead, the company focuses on teaching kids how to have a healthy approach to eating. To that end, SAGE has created its Spotlight Program that the company and AOS believe is easy for kids to understand and adopt.  Each day, every food on the lunch line is categorized as green, yellow or red.  Nutritionists at SAGE home office in Maryland review every recipe served at a SAGE school, and assign it a color.  Students then select the foods they eat based on their spotlight color.

According to the SAGE website (http://www.SAGEdining.com), green spotlight foods are those packed with different kinds of nutrients that help keep us healthy and strong.  Generally, we can eat green items without limits and we should make them a part of each meal.  Think broccoli and cantaloupe.  Yellow spotlight foods contain important vitamins and minerals that are part of a well-balanced diet. Most foods we eat fall into this category. The day we were at AOS, their lunch line contained chicken noodle soup, tuna salad and beef tips, all yellow spotlight choices.  And finally, red spotlight foods have nutrients we don’t need a lot of, like sodium or added sugar. We should practice moderation with these foods.  At AOS for example, they offer dessert on Monday, Wednesday and Friday only.  AOS loves the SAGE Spotlight Program and the time that Cammack and his staff spend educating students about making good choices when it comes the foods they eat.

Second, SAGE works very hard to source their food locally when possible and to use only high quality, fresh ingredients.  All items on the lunch line are made fresh daily, from the absolutely delicious hummus (trust us, we tried it) to the tuna salad.  Meats for the sandwich line are roasted in-house.  Produce deliveries arrive daily and are always checked for freshness. Cammack also is working on a plan to grow an herb garden at AOS.  Students would be responsible for maintaining the garden and Cammack would use the herbs in the cafeteria.  In addition to using local produce, SAGE also uses local recipes. When the AOS community did not love the first red beans and rice recipe that Cammack tried, he put out a request for a better, local option.  He found one he liked, submitted it to the home office so it could be assigned its color, and then began offering it at school.  The recipe is now a crowd pleaser at AOS and a part of SAGE’s recipe bank for other schools to use.

Finally, SAGE offers a wide variety of food choices every day.  In addition to the sandwich line, students can choose from two soups, the salad bar, the hot lunch line and at least one vegetarian dish.  While the school does offer standard kid favorites such as nachos, chicken fingers and hot dogs, they do so sparingly and try very hard to give students a reason to try new and different foods.  Cammack is a big believer that we eat first with our eyes.  If he can make foods that look good, students will be much more likely to try them

Overall, we were very impressed with SAGE and the AOS approach to dining.  Although no program is ever perfect, Winn says the AOS family is very pleased with the SAGE relationship.  We love the idea of encouraging children to make healthy eating options and know that most of us adults would benefit as well from selecting foods based on the Spotlight Program.  Unfortunately we live at a time when most families are over-worked and over-scheduled.  It is so much easier to visit the drive-through than to cook a healthy meal at home. But what if we all, as parents, committed to skipping the chicken nuggets this week?  Think it’s too difficult?  We challenge you to try it.  This week, plan a traditional family dinner.  Find a new or favorite recipe, one that uses fresh ingredients, and make it.  Challenge your kids to try everything on their plate and go light on the dessert.  If you want to make this a real challenge, put away the technology (parents, that goes for you too).  Who knows, you might just create a family tradition and perhaps discover that Junior actually likes brussel sprouts (with bacon of course – we still need some red light foods).

 

 

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Still Learning in a One-Room Schoolhouse

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Parker School Uniforms

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What do President Herbert Hoover, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Alan Shephard (the first man in space) all have in common?  At some point in their educations, they all attended school in a one-room schoolhouse.  How ironic that Shephard, a hero of modern times, credits part of his education to a one-room schoolhouse, a symbol of America’s rural past.  It may be ironic, but not surprising.  After all, one-room schoolhouses provide many benefits to students, including small student/teacher ratios, consistent teaching from year to year, mentoring opportunities between older and younger students, and lessons in self-motivation.

You don’t have to be a fan of Little House on the Prairie to know that one-room schoolhouses were usually located in rural settings and had only one teacher responsible for educating every student.  What you may not know, however, is that one-room schoolhouses are not necessarily a thing of the past.   According to a 2005 report on NPR, Holding On in Rural America (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5064420), in 1919 there were approximately 190,000 one-room schools across the country.  By 2005, there were just under 400 left with most of those remaining schools concentrated in a few states in the western U.S.  Sadly, in its August 31 article, Lessons from the One-Room School House (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903352704576540453011452540.html), the Wall Street Journal put the number of one-room schoolhouses at under 300, quite a drop in just 6 years.

One of these last one-room schoolhouses is located in Doss, TX.  Doss is located about half an hour northwest of Fredricksburg and 11 miles off the nearest state highway.  With about a dozen houses in town, one stop sign, two churches and a country store and post office, Doss is the epitome of a one-room schoolhouse town.  We recently had the opportunity to talk to Jill Pilcher, one of the school’s two teachers and a former Doss student.  The 125 year old Doss school is technically a two-room schoolhouse with one classroom for pre-K through 3rd grade and a second for 4th through 8th grades.  Pilcher, who teaches the older students, is joined by teacher Julie Stracke, who covers the younger grades.  This year, Doss began the school year with 28 students ranging in age from pre-K through 7th grade.

As Pilcher described to us how she organizes her day and multiple lesson plans, she also gave us some insight into what makes these schoolhouses so special.  First, with anywhere from 6 to 16 students in each classroom, the teachers have a good understanding of each child’s strengths and weaknesses.  This understanding makes the teachers better able to provide focused instruction tailored to each student’s specific needs.  Second, students learn the art of self-motivation, i.e. they must learn to stay on task without the teacher’s constant supervision.  In Pilcher’s older classroom, she will have students from four different grades working on separate assignments at the same time.  The individual student must be able to complete his or her own work while Pilcher focuses on other grades.  Third, older students learn to look out for and help younger students whenever possible.  Pilcher says that, often, she does not even have to ask older students for help.  They will volunteer to read to younger students or help those who are confused or struggling with a concept.  Finally, students learn to take on additional responsibilities both inside and outside the classroom.  Not surprisingly, Doss does not have any full-time maintenance personnel.   As a result, students take turns with cafeteria, flag and trash duty.  Older kids and younger kids work together throughout the week on their assigned tasks.

The proof is in the pudding.  Over the past three school years, Doss’ students have earned either a Recognized or Exemplary rating from the Texas Education Agency.  Obviously, none of Parker’s schools are one-room schoolhouses.  However, we think all schools, private and public alike, can learn some important lessons from schools like Doss.  Not that we need it, but one-room schoolhouses remind us of the benefit of a small student-teacher ratio.  We need only look to many of our public school bretheran to see the difficulties created by growing classroom sizes.  Smaller classroom sizes make for more meaningful teacher/student interaction and more focused instruction.  One-room schoolhouses also remind us of the benefits students receive from taking more responsibility for themselves and others.  We as parents, teachers and administrators should not be afraid to challenge students to become independent thinkers and self motivators, whatever form this may take (i.e. completing more challenging work on their own, partnering with other students to complete tasks or partnering with younger students in a mentoring program).

Unfortunately, we know that the one-room schoolhouse will become even more uncommon as most states face budget cuts and districts move to consolidate and cut costs.  Couple that with America’s general population shift to more urban areas, and we may be seeing the end of an era.  Even so, we at Parker will continue to root for the one-room schoolhouse and the positive learning opportunities they provide their students.  Who knows, maybe some great leader of tomorrow is studying right now in Doss or another small rural school.  Alternatively, maybe they are studying in one of your schools and just waiting for a teacher or older student to encourage, inspire or challenge them in some new way.  Either way, let’s make sure that the educational ideals of America’s rural past — hard work, self motivation, looking out for others — remain intact, during today’s modern times.


 

 

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Looking Back at Back-to-School 2011

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Parker School Uniforms

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Well, we have almost made it through another back-to-school season.  We are in the process of finishing our final “to dos,” i.e. processing returns and exchanges, finishing some monogramming and silk-screening, and shipping out any final items that were backordered.  At our corporate offices, we are already planning for back-to-school 2012.  Before we get too far down the road, however, we would like to take a moment to send out a few thank yous to our wonderful employees and customers.

Back-to-school for our stores began in June with our popular June sale and we have not slowed down since.  Back-to-school for our warehouse and production personnel began even sooner.  They have been working overtime since April.  We can’t say enough thank yous to our loyal employees who have worked so hard this back-to-school season.  We appreciate all you do.

Thank you also to our Parker families, both to those who shopped early and avoided the lines and to those who waited patiently during the final days before school.  We appreciate all of our customers and thank you very much for your business.  We know that it is unrealistic to believe that all of our customers will have a positive experience every time they come into the store.  It is our promise to you, however, that we will continue to improve our processes, technology and personal service so that we can make Parker the industry leader in customer service.

With all of that in mind, we wanted to share just a little of the great feedback we have received from customers this year.  Unless otherwise noted, these customer comments were sent directly to our customer service department.

Parker, Hello, I wanted to comment on the great service my family and I received on August 5th.  Employees were friendly and helpful in getting my daughter’s proper size of uniforms.  Although they didn’t have my daughter’s size they used same style to check and placed order to ship to our home. We received our order August 10th and it was perfect fit and in time for school this coming week.  Thank you so much for selecting great staff at 2108 NW Military in San Antonio, Tx location.  Have a blessed day. – P. Guerrero

Missy Grey, Parker School Uniforms Austin Store ManagerI shop for uniforms in Austin. I have three children ranging in ages of 25 to 13. For years we have purchased all of our uniforms from the Austin location. The owner of that store has the most fantastic sales people. I love going to that store because of the great service I receive each time. It has never varied over the past 15 plus years. Every visit amazes me—-they are my favorite place I shop. Thanks for providing the best service I have ever received! – T.Hussey

I am writing this to tell you how VERY impressed I was today with your employees at the Houston/Post Oak store! I witnessed two customers who were soooo rude and out of line and all of the employees were just as nice and polite as they could be, all of them with big smiles for everyone! I believe it was the manager that I was particularly impressed by…she was patient and kind and polite as two different women were so rude and angry…it was all I could do not to say something to the customers. I’m here to tell you their attitudes, words and actions were HORRIFYING! And, the thing that makes it even more impressive is that both of these “attacks” (that’s probably too strong of a word but “incidents” doesn’t do them justice!) occurred after 6:00pm…the second one was actually at 6:45…a time when your employees would every right to be tired and cranky…I assure you, they were not! It seems like people these days only take time to complain so I wanted to be sure that you are aware of the amazing employees you have at the Post Oak store!!! – C. Lehane

We loved that during a two day period last month, three different customers completed our online customer survey and commented on the great service they received from Ashley in our Carrollton store:

Ashley was a great help

A gal named Asley helped me. She made our shopping experience stress free. She had a very happy attitude and knew what she was doing.

Ashlee was VERY helpful.  My son has a thin build and long legs, so I’ve had to buy his pants too big so that I can get the right length.  This year Parker offered the adjustable waist and I wasn’t aware.  She offered me lots of options and helped me find the right pair.  She helped me find what I needed rather than what I asked for.  She was GREAT!

Thanks to everyone for a great back-to-school 2011!

 

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Why Uniforms

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Parker School Uniforms

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Christian School Products recently published an article by Parker’s President, Troy Pike, in its March 2011 online newsletter.  In the article, Pike outlined the research data showing that adopting a school uniform policy can have a positive impact on student performance in school.  We thought back-to-school was a great time to reprint portions of the article.  After all, it is the time of year when students, parents, and Parker employees are dreaming of polos, khakis and plaids.  What better time to remind our customers and potential customers why it makes so much sense for schools to adopt a school uniform policy?


When the Long Beach, California, public school system implemented a uniform policy for their 60,000 K-8 students in 1996, they were hopeful it might at least slow their worrying increase in school crime.  They could hardly have anticipated what transpired.  When they reviewed the data two years later, they found there had been a staggering 71 percent decrease in overall school crime. In contrast, their high schools, where no uniform policy had been adopted, saw violence increase 28 percent in the same period.  The Long Beach findings have been mirrored in other systems nationwide, and not just in terms of falling crime. Uniform programs improve civility, save families money, and boost self-esteem.  It turns out, clothes mean a lot.

Do kids who wear uniforms behave better? When it comes to the civility-boosting benefits of school uniforms, Long Beach has company. In the fall of 1998, two schools in Albuquerque, New Mexico, adopted a uniform policy of tucked-in polo shirts and khaki pants or skirts. In a study of the results published by Deborah L. Elder in 1999, it was found that in the very first semester the policy was put in place, total disciplinary referrals in the two schools fell by more than 50 percent.

Another study suggests just how profoundly uniforms can influence attitudes and behavior. In 1996, Richard K. Murray conducted a survey of two schools in Charleston County, South Carolina, using the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ Comprehensive Assessment of School Environments School Climate Survey. One school adopted uniforms, the other did not. In the one that did, school climate rated higher in 9 out of 10 categories than its peer school.

With results like these, it’s little wonder that mandated school uniform policies have been getting more popular. In fact, the number of schools with uniform policies rose 3 percent in a recent 6-year period. In light of other findings, it’s a wonder they did not rise more.

Do school uniforms help families save money? Aside from their contributions to school environment, school uniform programs provide a practical benefit to families: they save money.  In 1999, the NPD Group conducted a consumer study to determine the cost of a school uniform program. They discovered that families whose children attended “uniform” schools spent an average of $85 less on clothes per year than families whose children did not.

This is not to say that uniforms are “cheap” in and of themselves. Instead, parents save money by not having to invest in expensive, “status symbol” fashions season after season. What’s more, because uniform styles remain consistent over the years, parents often find themselves able to pass down uniforms from one child to the next. (Durability helps with that, too. Unlike most clothing that is designed to last only a season, uniforms are often reinforced at stress points – think knees and seat – to stand up to an active lifestyle.)

In addition, the better uniform companies design their clothes specifically to accommodate what children do best: grow. Uniform features can include generous hems, movable buttons, adjustable waists, and other features to adapt to a changing child.  For all these reasons, families can experience significant dollar savings over time with a uniform program.

Do uniforms bring people together? The story would not be complete without noting some “softer” – but no less important – benefits of a uniform program. For one, parents tend to find they argue less with their children over what to wear (and what not to wear). Schools, too, no longer have to struggle to keep their dress codes a step ahead of endlessly inventive students.

Uniforms also help level the playing field for students in terms of socioeconomic status. Those of lesser means do not feel as conspicuous in their inability to afford the latest fashions; that, in turn, encourages students to judge one another more by character than by logos.  And, finally, uniforms – with their crisp, classic good looks – invariably help instill a sense of pride in school and self.

The author who wrote, “What a strange power there is in clothing” did not have school uniforms in mind. Nevertheless, clearly these garments have the power to exert a positive influence on young people, and impact the way they approach not just their schoolwork, but one another. For that reason alone, while a uniform program may not ultimately be for every school, it is certainly something every school should consider.

Troy Pike, President of Parker School Uniforms

 

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Introducing Maryln Appelbaum

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Parker School Uniforms

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With August just around the corner, it is time to change gears a little bit at the Parker Blog.  For most of the summer, we have enjoyed focusing on the benefits of time spent out of doors, but it’s time to go inside.  As back-to-school nears, parents usually have two responses.  The first is a feeling of sadness that summer is ending and the children soon will be going back to school.  The second, and perhaps more common, is a feeling of excitement (some might say elation) that summer is ending and the children will soon be going back to school.  No matter which group you fall into, one thing is sure — there is nothing like summertime to make parents appreciate the patience, dedication and hard work it takes to be a teacher.


Teachers shoulder an enormous amount of responsibility when it comes to the well-being and educational success of the children in their classrooms.  During the school year, children usually spend more quality time with their teachers and classmates than they do their own families.  We all know that a lifetime of preparation goes into being a teacher.  From university degrees, to experiences in the classroom, to continuing education, teachers are always learning.  We are excited to introduce you to a Houston woman who has been a teacher, administrator, and now a well-known name in teacher training, Maryln Appelbaum.  Appelbaum has spent the better part of her lifetime helping teachers (and parents) learn how to handle the challenges and opportunities that arise when working with children.  Because we hope to call on Appelbaum for her insights in future Parker Blogs, we wanted to take this opportunity to tell you more about her.

Appelbaum is co-owner and co-founder of Appelbaum Training Institute (“ATI”), headquartered in Sugar Land, TX and the author of over 30 how-to books geared exclusively to educators and parents.  Appelbaum, who has a doctorate in Psychology and Master’s degrees in both Psychology and Education, has been working with children since 1973 as a therapist, teacher, headmaster and consultant for families and schools.  She has been owner and headmaster of three Montessori educational centers and one private school for children here in Houston and has served as the Executive Director of the National Center for Child Care Professionals. Appelbaum is a national authority on educating children and teachers.

From the beginning of her career, Appelbaum has focused on how to make sure that all kids, even difficult kids, have a successful learning experience in the classroom.  According to Appelbaum, her Montessori schools were known for taking the more challenging students, the ones other schools might not accept into their programs.  She believes it is imperative for parents and educators to see their students as individuals with unique personalities and needs.  With the proper training, Appelbaum believes parents and educators can learn effective and useful strategies for handling all children.  It was this idea that inspired her masters thesis and her first published book, Do It Right: 101 Solutions for Discipline Dilemmas.  What started as one book has turned into thirty with titles such as How to Talk to Kids So They Will Listen, How to Listen so Kids Will Talk, and How To Teach Kids to Read and Write.

After leading teaching seminars in Houston and around Texas for other organizations, Texas state licensing officials contacted Maryln and asked if she had considered going into the training business herself.  In 1989, Maryln did just that when she and her son, Marty Appelbaum, founded ATI.  Today, the company is the country’s largest child-care training organization, having trained over a million child care professionals since its founding.   ATI has two training divisions.  The first is its preschool division that operates training seminars covering multiple topics from light-hearted (Squishy Gooey Art Fun) to difficult (Child Abuse: What You Must Know).  ATI also has a K-12 Division that operates seminars focusing on one specific topic such as bullying, anger management or how to handle difficult students.  Instead of spending a lot of time on theory, all the ATI training courses focus on multiple strategies that teachers can use in various situations.

Appelbaum’s positive outlook and successful strategies have garnered her and her company plenty of media attention and a loyal following over the years.  Over 70,000 teachers, parents and even churches have registered to receive her free daily Messages from Maryln, where she gives a positive message focusing on children.  If you are interested in signing up for her daily messages, follow the attached link  http://www.atiseminars.org/mfm/.   If you would like to learn more about ATI’s seminars, order any of Appelbaum’s books, or view her recent media appearances, visit the ATI website: http://www.atiseminars.org/.

Maryln says the most important thing she has learned from her years of working with teachers, parents, and kids is that “even though all kids are different, they still have the same universal emotional needs of love, consistency, structure,  positive role models, freedom within limits to make choices, and the need to have fun and laugh.”  She adds that “all kids are treasures in their own unique ways, and it’s the adult’s job to discover the hidden treasures in their children and bring them forth to shine and glow.”  We at the Parker Blog would like to thank Maryln for her years of service to students and teachers.  We look forward to hearing more from her in the future.

 

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Playing in the Mud at Houston’s House of Tiny Treasures

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Parker School Uniforms

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Our June 10 blog gave an overview of the beautiful outdoor classroom at St. Francis Episcopal Day School, home to students surrounded by the best that Houston has to offer (http://blog.parkersu.com/2011/06/10/the-woods-at-st-francis-episcopal-day-school).  We were recently introduced to another beautiful outdoor classroom, this one home to children growing up in much different circumstances than those at St. Francis.  For the small group of students attending SEARCH Homeless Services’ (“SEARCH”) House of Tiny Treasures preschool, their outdoor space could not be more important.

Houston's House of Tiny Treasures

SEARCH is an organization in Houston that works to move individuals and families off the streets and into permanent housing.  SEARCH realizes that to effectively reach that goal, they must do more than just feed and clothe those in their care.  They must also help them develop important life skills, with education being primary on that list.   SEARCH operates an Adult Education Center in Houston that provides basic adult education, GED preparation, case management and supportive services to 80 students annually.

SEARCH knows that, in order to truly break the cycle of homelessness in a family, the organization also must focus significant time and attention on the children.  Its primary means of doing this is through its wonderful preschool program, House of Tiny Treasures (“HTT”).  HTT serves up to 30 students at any one time and up to 60 students in a year.  According to the SEARCH website, “The goal of … Tiny Treasures is to equip each child with the skills needed to reach his or her maximum potential and be prepared for kindergarten.”

On a very hot Friday earlier this month, we met with the preschool’s director, Mitzi Bartlett, and Kathryn Straw, Senior Development Associate at SEARCH, for a tour of HTT’s outdoor play areas.  HTT, which dedicated their outdoor play spaces last July, worked with Exxon Mobile, the United Way, and Bright Beginnings to plan and bring the space to life.  HTT also looked to Rusty Keeler and his Natural Playscapes philosophy (http://planetearthplayscapes.com) for their inspiration.  Bartlett could not be happier with the school’s new “backyard.”

HTT’s backyard has always been an integral part to their students’ learning environment.  Bartlett notes that 22 years of education experience has taught her that outdoor play teaches kids important interpersonal lessons such as how to negotiate, problem solve, and mediate disagreements.  Children who either do not have access to their own play space or who spend too much time indoors with their electronic toys miss out on these important learning opportunities.  Weather permitting, the preschool requires that children spend at least an hour outside every day, with additional outdoor activities scheduled throughout the year.  For example, every Friday during the warmer months is Splash Day where students play with sprinklers and hoses.  The school provides all its students with a towel and swimsuit of their own for these special days.  Unfortunately, we visited too late in the day to get to take advantage of all the wet and cold fun on our hot Friday.

Bartlett and Keeler both believe strongly that too much play equipment such as jungle gyms and swing sets take away from a child’s ability to use his or her imagination and explore the outside world.  While HTT’s original playground area had swings and other more traditional climbing equipment, the preschool decided to follow Keeler’s approach when it designed their new playscape.  Other than two slides built into a small rise in the backyard, the area is free of traditional play equipment.  Instead, HTT included lots of open ended play spaces such as chalk boards, sand boxes, a butterfly garden, and a musical instrument area made up of metal buckets and other everyday items.

For the majority of the kids at HTT, this backyard is the only one they have ever experienced.   The garden area with its flowers, herbs and plants teaches children important lessons about where food comes from and how to care for flowers and plants.  Unrushed, unorganized time outside allows the children to play and explore, to observe the clouds moving overhead and to watch the birds, bugs and lizards that frequent the area.

Bartlett even loves a particularly muddy area at the back of the playground.  She notes that most parents and educators today do not want their kids to get dirty.  How many of us grew up making mud pies, yet we never encourage our children to do the same?  Bartlett believes that all children, and especially those who have no yard or home of their own, need to learn what it feels like to squish mud between their fingers and toes.   HTT has an outdoor hose area and indoor bathing area for quick clean up.

It is very difficult to spend any amount of time with Bartlett and not walk away filled with hope that, the love, care, and opportunities the children of HTT receive each year, will make a life-changing impact on their lives.  Not surprisingly, SEARCH and HTT can always use your help, whether it be in the form of your time or your donations of either money or household items.  If you would like more information about SEARCH and HTT or if you would like to inquire about volunteer opportunities or the programs’ current needs, please visit their website at http://www.searchhomeless.org.

Two blogs, two schools, two very important and beautiful outdoor learning areas – we challenge you to use the example of HTT and St. Francis Episcopal Day School in your own home or school.  You may not be in a position to redesign a playground, but you are in a position to challenge kids to go outside and get a little dirty.  Maybe they can even make some mud pies…

 

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The Woods at St. Francis Episcopal Day School

Posted on June 10, 2011 by Parker School Uniforms

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“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”  — Henry David Thoreau

The Woods at St. Francis Episcopal Day School
When we learned that St. Francis Episcopal Day School just dedicated a new outdoor classroom and garden, we knew we had found a great topic for the Parker Blog.  After all, when you think about what makes a healthy learning environment for kids, what better place to start than outdoors.  Located on 15 acres in the Houston community of Piney Point Village, St. Francis is an 820-student private school serving ages 2 years through 8th grade.  What we found in “The Woods,” the Thoreau-inspired name that St. Francis has given their outdoor space, is much more than an outdoor garden.  It is a classroom, a home for butterflies, a tree house, an art gallery, a worship center, and more.  Before we get too far into the details, we should go back to the beginning.

SFEDSIn September 2008, Hurricane Ike made its mark on the city of Houston.  An hour inland, St. Francis suffered some roof damage to the school and lost 13 large trees, mostly in an area that the school used for recreation purposes and overflow parking.  As the school began the process of fixing the damage, staff members Debbie Harris and Carol Lee Nicosia began to envision creating an outdoor space that would do more than just replace the lost trees.

Harris, the school’s Science Department Head and 7th Grade teacher and Nicosia, a Primary School teacher who holds a degree in Parks and Wildlife Management, successfully co-wrote and applied for a British Petroleum “A+ for Energy” grant.   The grant enabled St. Francis to design an outdoor classroom and gardening area for the school.   The school then approached private donors to cover the cost of bringing the plan to life.

Harris recently gave us a wonderful tour of the Woods, and we found her excitement to be infectious.  Harris explained that she and Nicosia looked to The Arbor Day Foundation for the garden’s inspiration.  The Arbor Day Foundation has developed a program it calls Nature Explore that encourages schools to develop outdoor learning spaces for their students.  The program is relatively new, with only about 60 schools nation-wide receiving certification from the program.

SFEDSThe Arbor Day Foundation website, www.arborday.org/explore, explains that they developed the Nature Explore program because “Educators and mental health professionals world-wide are becoming concerned that many of today’s children are no longer able to spend unhurried hours exploring the natural world in the same ways that previous generations enjoyed. Research is showing that children need connections with the natural world as a regular part of their healthy growth and development.”  With that in mind, the program requires that schools meet three requirements in order to receive certification.

First, the school must show that it has created a well-designed outdoor space.  St. Francis has met this requirement and then some.  Dedicated on March 11 of this year, The Woods is made up of 90% native Texas plants and multiple areas with unique purposes.  Some of the areas include the Awakening, which is a butterfly garden that is already a favorite spot for students on the hunt for caterpillars; the Treehouse, which is a free play area and quiet space; the Dig, a sandy area used for a variety of curriculum; and The Living Earth, which is an area for growing vegetables and herbs.  The Woods also includes an outdoor art area, music area, and other learning spaces.

SFEDS

In addition to class time, Harris is excited about the opportunities the outdoor space will provide for students’ personal growth.  The school designed an area it calls Gods Drop into the garden.  Students use this area for outdoor prayer and quiet times.  Students can “drop” a rock or stone in front of the cross that marks the area after they have said their prayers.  Harris also envisions using the Woods to serve others.  The school already organizes canned food drives each year.  Harris would like to grow enough fresh produce in the garden so that the students can donate fresh fruits and vegetables along with the canned goods.

The Arbor Day Foundation also requires that schools show evidence of staff development as it relates to nature education.   Teachers in the St. Francis science department have already used the outdoor space as a backdrop for studying the life cycle of caterpillars and butterflies, meteorology, and plant life.  Harris is now working in coordination with other departments to develop additional, non-science curriculum.  For example, she would like to bury “treasure” somewhere in the Dig and use it as a fun way for the students to learn about map coordinates.  Tree cookies, or the very base of the trees that have been lost from the hurricane or other causes, provide fun stepping-stones for students and a great opportunity to study circumference and other geometric concepts.

Finally, the Nature Explore program requires that not just students but also their families get involved.   St. Francis is still working on this final component.  Within the upcoming months, Harris plans to create a volunteer calendar so that one or more St. Francis families will adopt a month during the school year and then plan and implement an outside activity for the students and their families.

The entire team at St. Francis has done a terrific job fulfilling the goals of the Nature Explore program.  They have created many beautiful ways for their students to explore, learn and make connections with the natural world.  After spending an hour with Harris in The Woods, we felt excited for the students and faculty at St. Francis and motivated to spread the word about the program.St. Francis Students in their Parker School Uniforms, plaid jumpers

If you are interested in implementing a similar program at your school or would just like to learn more about The Arbor Day Foundation, please visit their website at www.arborday.org.  If you would like more information about St. Francis Episcopal Day School, you may visit their website at http://www.sfedshouston.org.  We do have one request.  Once you have read up on St. Francis and the Nature Explore Program, please turn off your computer.  If the visit to The Woods taught us anything, it is that we need to spend less time looking at TVs and computer screens and more time outside enjoying nature.  Now go play.

 

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Welcome to the Parker Blog

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Parker School Uniforms

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Parker School Uniforms Houston Texas

Welcome to the Parker Blog.  We are so excited to launch this new blog site and to begin interacting with the entire Parker School Uniform family in a way that extends beyond the occasional shopping experience.  Over the last year, we have spent a lot of time trying to answer the following question — How can Parker best take advantage of the multitude of opportunities on the web?   Revamping our website and establishing a social media presence such as our Facebook page are obvious answers, but we want to do more.  We want to give you, our schools and customers, a better understanding of who we are at Parker and what’s important to us.  At the same time, we want to provide you with the very best forum where you can share your thoughts and ideas with us.

That begs the next question, what is important to us here at Parker School Uniform?  We kicked around a few ideas, but it always came down to the same thing – healthy kids and a healthy learning environment for them.   After all, the business of school uniforms is in itself an attempt to create a safer, more consistent environment in which students can learn.  School uniforms both minimize the distractions that traditional clothing choices can create and maximize a sense of school spirit and pride.  Parker School Uniforms bows and other accessories

Once we established the focus of our blog, we realized there were an almost overwhelming number of topics on which we could focus – anti-bullying strategies, new technologies for the classroom, outdoor classrooms and gardening programs, mentoring programs and many more.  We are constantly amazed at the incredible things happening at our schools, whether it is new teaching techniques or awards that our students and teachers are receiving.  We need only look to our schools themselves for great ideas for the Parker Blog.  In addition, we will try to bring you some interesting insights from outside the Parker family that we hope you will be able to make use of in your own schools and families.

At the same time, we want our blog site to be a place where you go to express yourselves and let us know what is happening at your schools.   We are in the process of creating a “contributor” form that should be complete later this month.  If you have a topic that you would like to blog about, then please fill out the form and submit it to us.  It is our goal to post as many “contributor” blogs as possible.   We also have the “We’re Bragging” page of the blog where you can let the Parker community know the great things that are happening at your schools.  Again, either fill out the contributor form or give your Parker salesperson a call and we will post your information.  Finally, we have the “Just for Fun” page that is self-explanatory and we hope ever evolving.  We have a feeling you will enjoy reading The Dog Blog to hear from our Parker pooch, Zoe, and her insightful opinions on fashion.

Well, that about covers it.  In the month of June, we will be exploring what schools are doing with outdoor gardens and classrooms.  We will keep you updated on new postings through our Parker Facebook page.  And of course, you can always let us know what you are thinking on Facebook.

All our best, PSU.

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