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Ms. Alex Franke went to Parker from JK through 12th grade. After Parker, she went to a small school in Brunswick, Maine called Bowdoin. At Bowdoin, she majored in art. After graduating from Bowdoin, Ms. Franke went to take classes at the Art Institute of Chicago, then went to go work at a ranch in Colorado. After working at the ranch, she came back and visited Parker. She realized she really liked being back here and wanted a job. Her first job at Parker was in the principal's office when she was in her early twenties, and has served the school in many capacities since.
Ms. Franke’s job is the school's auxiliary programs coordinator. That means she coordinates Parker PM (after school programs), summer programs, and when other people and schools rent and use school spaces such as the auditorium, field, and gym. She also teaches the Middle School art club, with whom she recently painted a mural over the water fountain on the third floor [right].
Ms. Franke came back to Parker as an alum to work as the auxiliary programs director, and she said that the technology has definitely changed since she was here as a student. She also said that when she came back, some of her childhood teachers were still teaching here. Ms. Franke said that it was very nice and she felt lucky to come back and see them again, this time as a coworker and not as a student.
Ms. Franke’s favorite thing is that she can come to school everyday because she has a long great history at Parker. Ms. Franke is very involved with the summer programs. Her greatest accomplishment is the summer camp program. It used to be very messy and confusing, but she changed it to a website that is very accessible. You can easily find things for your age group, and things you would enjoy. It is also simple to fill out the form to enroll in a program. Ms. Franke wants Parker to have a theatre camp. Last year she added multiple programs, including a theater camp. This fall, it became clear to her that she had added too many programs, so this year, she is cutting back. She is still hoping to add a theatre program, just not yet. Ms. Franke is doing a very good job with the summer programs. She also loves to go to Lorado Taft with the 5th graders every year.
Before working at Parker, Ms. Franke worked at a ranch in Colorado with kids. The ranch had fun activities such as horse riding. After working at the ranch she came to visit Parker and got a job. As a child, Ms. Franke’s favorite class was art. Ms. Franke is an artist and she is very good at it. After two years of working at Parker, she started to take classes at the Art Institute. She was particularly drawn to art because of her college professors and for the fun. When she worked at the ranch during and after college, she painted a little, but mostly she sketched because of the convenience, and because she was really busy almost every day. Now she sponsors the art club after school. Her favorite piece of art that she has ever made is a picture of the ranch she worked on; it is the view of the barn door and mountains [left].
"Listening to people and trying to understand their perspective and the problem they're trying to solve, and then trying to match my work to fit their needs is a strength I think I have."
"Listening to people and trying to understand their perspective and the problem they're trying to solve, and then trying to match my work to fit their needs is a strength I think I have."
Currently outside of school, Ms. Franke likes to watch TV, dance, and go bowling. She also teaches an art club at Parker. Ms. Franke does not like to think of the art club as something involved with her job. It’s just something she likes to do. Ms. Franke also likes to hang out with her dog, Bowie. Bowie kind of looks like a border collie but he is a mutt. (A mutt is a dog that has two or more breeds.) Though, Ms. Franke does not know what breeds Bowie is. Bowie is white with black spots and he has a big fluffy tail. He is from Joliet, Illinois and has social problems. Bowie is fine when he is around his owner, Ms. Franke, but he gets scared when he is around new people. Ms. Franke is working with Bowie on that.
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