Sometimes Parkwood Hill fifth-grade science students come to class and are greeted by their teacher Mr. Larry Hollon. Occasionally though, it’s Egor, a hunchbacked lab assistant, who has a lesson for the students and is often aided by Igor, his hand puppet friend. Extra complicated labs might be administered by a “crazy scientist” complete with lab coat and neon, multi-colored wig. Sometimes Hollon – as himself – performs a song about the lesson; and sometimes the students make up songs of their own.
It may not be what you’d expect from the classroom of a teacher that spent 22 years in the military prior to getting into education. Then again, Hollon would tell you that Parkwood Hill is a pretty unique place.
“I have been around many campuses in my career, and this is only the second one where I found the majority of the teachers really willing to share and help each other as much as possible,” Hollon said. “The atmosphere is that of a family that works together to make life much more meaningful for all involved.”
PHIS Principal Kathy Knowles said the family atmosphere among the staff and students is what really makes her campus special.
“We collaborate when planning, we try to have fun when we learn, and our motto is ‘We Are Family,’” Knowles said. “We take that very seriously.”
The importance of connecting with students is assumed, but Parkwood Hill staff makes a concentrated effort to place the same importance on the relationships with parents and between employees. Becoming a strong team is something that Knowles said her staff has been dedicated to since she arrived at the school four years ago.
That team atmosphere has led to memorable classroom experiences for Parkwood Hill students in classrooms like Hollon’s where learning is fun, but not just play time. Hollon’s military experience developing and presenting lesson plans for National Guard and Reserve forces training isn’t lost in his fifth-grade classroom. He and his students realize that having fun in the classroom works, but only if you stay on task.
Hollon said he likes to give his students a sense of ownership in their educational experience. For each project he provides at least three different options to choose from, so that the students get to participate in the project they want. He said his students really get into projects like creating musical instruments from recyclable materials when they study energy, or getting musical in other ways by changing lyrics to a popular – school appropriate – song to match a particular lesson.
During a visit to Hollon’s classroom in late January, students were working on two separate projects: some studied gravity by dropping objects from various heights while others constructed apparatuses that displayed the various phases of the moon. All the while, Hollon moved from station to station as the students called him over to seek his feedback, and each group was met with insight and encouragement.
Down the hall from Hollon, math students are on the “hot seat” in Cheryl Parten’s class. The 2008-09 KISD Elementary Teacher of the Year uses games in her lessons, like the popular “Who Wants to be a Mathematician?” No prize money is involved, but students have the opportunity to answer a series of multiple choice math questions for classroom glory. Of course, if they get stumped, they have lifelines available including the ability to “phone a friend” within the class for a little assistance.
When they’re not playing mathematical versions of popular TV shows – including Math Survivor – or playing Multiplication Baseball, they may be studying probability and statistics using a carnival theme and student-created games. She also never hides her love for Star Wars, and often refers to her students’ journey as young “Padawans” on their way to becoming Jedi Master Mathematicians.
All the while, Parten’s students are taking Parkwood Hill’s “family” theme almost literally. She said her students all get code names as they are viewed as “secret agents on the quest for solving whatever mission we are presented.” It just so happens that her code name is “Mother on Mission” (or M.O.M. for short).
“It’s pretty cool to hear students calling me ‘Mom’ at school, at the grocery store, or wherever we might run into each other,” Parten said.
Parten said you can feel the bond between staff, students and families as soon as you walk in the doors at Parkwood Hill. She said that while the staff does a great job working together and celebrating their differences, the credit for Parkwood Hill’s uniqueness deserves to be shared.
“We have an excited group of kids that come eager to learn and eager to see what their crazy teachers will do today,” Parten said. “The families in our community are there for us as we are for them.”
Principal Knowles acknowledges that Parten and Hollon are standout teachers in the district, but that the two of them only scratch the surface of the people that make Parkwood Hill a great place to work and learn.
“Every part of our family counts and is important,” Knowles said. Of course Parkwood Hill’s family just happens to include hunchbacked lab assistants, crazy scientists and Jedi Masters.
Parkwood Hill Intermediate Facts
Opened: August 2000
Address: 8201 Parkwood Hill Blvd., Fort Worth, 76137
Enrollment: 1250
2008-09 TEA Accountability Rating: Recognized
Mascot: Bulldogs
Feeder Pattern: Hillwood Middle School > Central High*
Principal: Kathy Knowles
Assistant Principals: Kim Anderson and Holly Gusick
Click here to visit Parkwood Hill Intermediate's campus Web site!
*A portion of the Parkwood Hill/Hillwood feeder pattern attend Fossil Ridge High.