Ms. Rolanda Shepard

Ms. Shepard, who is the Upper School coordinator, started at Parker when she was 21 years old. She was the youngest employee at Parker, but was still welcomed with open arms by Laurel Carlsen, who took Ms. Shepard under her wing. Ms. Shepard most enjoys interacting with students and teachers. She loves working on various projects where she encounters something new every day. Her job takes patience and the ability to handle multiple tasks at a time. As a native Chicagoan, Rolanda Shepard takes on a challenge and carries herself with pride.

Ms. Shepard loved being in school, especially sixth grade. Her favorite subjects were English and history. Her history teacher was Annie L. May, who had a tremendous positive influence on Ms. Shepard’s life. In college, Ms. Shepard majored in English literature and wanted to teach, but realized that she didn’t like the teaching part; she enjoyed the relationships with the students better.

Ms. Shepard does a lot in her free time. She likes music and singing. Some of her favorite bands and singers are A Tribe Called Quest, Kendrick Lamar, and Stevie Wonder. Ms. Shepard has a backstory with music, too. She is a singer and sang backup for Barry Manilow when she was in high school. She told us Mr. Manilow was a very pleasant person to meet and work with. Now, even though Barry Manilow isn't one of her favorite artists, students and teachers playfully give her Barry Manilow-themed gifts for the holidays!

Ms. Shepard said that everything has changed in her time at Parker. For example, the school didn’t have IDs when she started. The way it was, a child would just pop in now and then for a quick visit. Also, prospective students did not have to take a test or shadow to get into Parker. Finally, the physical structure of the school has changed as well.

Ms. Shepard said one of her favorite things to do every day is to call her three-year-old son, Kingsley. She does this between 10:45 and 11:15 AM every day. Sometimes, Kingsley just says, "Hi, mom," and Ms. Shepard has time to say, "Hi." It’s a pleasure each morning. The most enjoyable parts of Ms. Shepard's day are her interactions with people. She likes watching the students grow up.

Ms. Shepard's day is full of different jobs and tasks ready to be completed. She wakes up as early as 5:00 AM in order to get to school around 7:00 or 7:30. This gives her enough time to get everything prepared for the day. She officially starts her work day at 8:30 AM. Ms. Shepard's office is an oasis of calmness where students can unwind and approach her with serious problems and concerns such as the loss of a relative, a negative relationship with a teacher, a new project, and so on. It can be challenging for Ms. Shepard to juggle all these issues at the same time. When the students are in their classes, which usually run 50-55 minutes long, that's Ms. Shepard's time to work and focus. When classes end, that's when the activity spikes.

Ms. Shepard's day is full of a variety of work and people. Another aspect of her work is the many challenges she faces in her work day. She organizes Curriculum Night, a very important event in which parents come and visit each student's classroom and teachers individually. Ms. Shepard organizes each student's schedule for that night and where everyone should go. Another of her challenges is that she works with “crazy high schoolers” (as she says with a laugh). When she is working, they sometimes disobey rules, run down the hall, play sports in the hallway, are very moody, and make many demands. When this happens, Ms. Shepard steps out of her office and the students show their respect by stopping and apologizing. She and the students have mutual respect for one another.

Another of Ms. Shepard's challenges is getting things from teachers in a timely fashion. To face challenges such as these, you need a lot of patience, which Ms. Shepard definitely has. Since she was little, she has had an “instinct,” as she calls it, to deal with problems as they come up. When Ms. Shepard faces a challenge, she remains patient and faces it positively. Along with cultivating patience, she has learned to accept people for who they are.

As the Upper School coordinator, Ms. Shepard is very skilled at her job. She takes on challenges and helps students as much as she can. She accepts other people for who they are and not for their appearances. She understands that everyone is different, but still enormously special. Ms. Shepard has made many wonderful contributions to our school, and we should thank her for that. We are all excited to see what she accomplishes next.