Our History

Parker School is a non-profit, college-preparatory independent day school fully accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Established in 1976 by community leaders, Parker School has been an important community resource for education, dedicated to serving a diverse student body for four decades.

Parker began as a ninth through twelfth-grade high school. Middle school grades seven and eight were added in 1977, and for a time, the entire middle school was located in the Annex building next to Kahilu Hall. A sixth grade came and went before being added permanently in 2004, and a lower school was established for kindergarten through fifth grade in 2005.

Today, Parker School is thriving and serves 335 kindergarten through twelfth-grade students. The school has sustained its commitment to maintaining tuition at a reasonable level and providing tuition assistance to students in need (currently nearly 40% of the student body). The guiding values at Parker are excellence, integrity, and compassion, and students enjoy: a rigorous academic program; hands-on experiential learning; an excellent arts program; leadership opportunities; exciting extra-curricular activities such as debate, athletics, drama, and dance; opportunities for hands-on community service; a nurturing atmosphere; and a true sense of ‘ohana, extended family.

Timeline:

  • 1976 – Parker School founded
  • 1977 – Middle school grades added
  • 1995 – Parker School acquires land for site of future lower school campus
  • 2003 – Parker institutes its Zero Tolerance Policy on drugs and alcohol
  • 2004 – Parker School builds three new buildings to house the newly expanded middle school
    • First Advanced Placement course added (AP Language & Composition)
    • Dramatiques after-school drama program founded for grades 6-12
  • 2006 – Parker School begins lower school program
  • 2007 – New lower school campus opens
  • 2009 – The first SmartBoards are installed in math and science classrooms; all classrooms outfitted the following year.
  • 2010 – Use permit acquired to complete master plan that was created in 2008 (soccer field, future gym, future middle school buildings)
  • 2012 – Regulation-size soccer field complete
  • 2013 – One-to-one iPad initiative launched
  • 2015 – Kahilu Hall, also known as the “Upper Hall,” turns 100; See a detailed timeline of Kahilu Hall here
  • 2016 – Parker School celebrates 40th anniversary
  • 2020 – New Head of School, Stephen Dunn, navigates Parker through educating students during a worldwide pandemic

Headmasters/Head of School:

  • Janice Unger  1976-1977
  • Dr. Carlo Brizzolara  1977-1978
  • Burk Faraola  1978-1984
  • Dr. E.S. Van Gorder  1984-1987
  • Stan Shutes  1987 (interim, part of year)
  • Dr. Alan Saunders  1987-1990
  • Pieper Toyama 1990-2002
  • Dr. Carl Sturges  2002-2020
  • Stephen Dunn, Head of School 2020-present