Karen Fisher

Before we met Karen Fisher, we didn't know a lot about her. We didn’t know what she does for the Parker community everyday. When she walked into the room, you could feel her confident presence, her hardworking mind, and her kind but direct way of speaking to others. We could soon tell that Ms. Fisher is a dedicated Director of Enrollment and Financial Aid. She is a gracious and diligent person. She works non-stop to make the Parker community better than it already is. We are very grateful to have Ms. Fisher as admissions director, and to have had the experience of interviewing her.

Ms. Fisher grew up in Oak Park, just west of Chicago. She went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for college. After that, Ms. Fisher went to DePaul University for law school and then went on to get her Master’s degree in business at North Park University. Because of her background in law and business, she wanted to have a job that connects to law. She has two children, both of whom went to Parker. From having a daughter who went to Parker for fourteen years, Ms. Fisher learned to appreciate the Parker community. Her experience as a parent, she said, "helps in terms of empathy for parents going through the [admissions] process, because I remember what it was like when I first came to Parker and I didn’t know anything about it, and I walked through the hallways and was seeing with eyes that were unfamiliar to Parker, so it helps me empathize with what’s important to parents and what’s important to us as a school to convey to parents about what we are.” Ms. Fisher has worked at Parker for 15 years and loves her job as the Director of Enrollment and Financial Aid.

“There is equity in the admissions process, so we want everybody to feel on the same footing when they come to us.”

When Ms. Fisher looks through a family’s applications, she looks for a few things to give her a start to evaluating the applicants. She looks at the student’s grades and past schooling. “It’s difficult to make [admissions] selections," she told us, "but we have a process we rely on to help us." The process, Ms. Fisher said, includes "looking at a student’s records, application, and grades." This process also includes the host teacher's observations from the student's "shadow" day and the opportunity they have to talk with the teacher, after which the host teacher writes up a report for admissions about what the student's visit day was like. The admissions team, Ms. Fisher says, then brings "all of that information in front of an admissions committee which consists of administrators from the school and faculty members, and we discuss and rate all the candidates, and we come to a consensus about who would be the best fit for those spaces."

The admissions team and administration feel bad when they can only admit some kids and not all, Ms. Fisher said. The application process differs by age: lower grades (JK-1) have playgroups consisting of about ten kids at one time to be observed by faculty members. In grades 2-12, students come for a full shadow day and participate in the class. Although it is stressful for parents to go through the admissions process, Ms. Fisher noted, she said that one of their goals as an admissions team is making sure parents can feel comfortable asking any question, and to treat everyone with transparency and honesty. When specifically asked, Ms. Fisher noted that if a student has ever been suspended, expelled or had past problems in school, it may make it more difficult for them to be admitted, but the information is always viewed in context. It is required to speak English to get into Parker because most classes are conducted in English. “The application process itself has not changed much since I got here,” says Ms. Fisher.

“It’s difficult to make [admissions] selections, but we have a process we rely on to help us."

Over the years Ms. Fisher had some challenges such as getting people to visit Parker and to learn more about the school in general. Ms. Fisher has a lot of future students’ interviews and tests to look at. Some of the applicants have varying abilities and learning styles, but Ms. Fisher helps them to find the right school for them. When asked what she would do with an unlimited budget, Ms. Fisher shared that she would like to be able to admit as many students as possible without having to worry about tuition. The busiest time of the year for admissions is mid March, when return offers from families they offered positions at the school to come in.

When asked, Ms. Fisher also said that if a student’s parents are famous, the admissions team does not give that family priority, and they focus instead on how likely the family would be to be a good fit at Parker. “There is equity in the admissions process so we want everybody to feel on the same footing when they come to us," she said. If an applicant has a parent who works at the school, they get the highest admissions priority, and their parent(s) get a 75% discount on tuition. If an applicant has a sibling that goes to this school, he or she also has the highest priority of admission. If an applicant has a parent who went to Parker, you have a slightly lower priority of admission, but still higher than that of the average applicant. This is called an Admission Preference Policy. These are just preferences and don't guarantee admission to the school. Personal recommendation letters don’t often play a significant role in the admissions process. Ms. Fisher often recommends that families apply to multiple schools to increase their chances of getting into one that suits them. If a student’s family is moving from out of state because of a parent’s change in jobs and has to apply late, the applicant is not penalized. They will still be allowed to take the entrance exam. “One thing I learned in law school," Ms. Fisher said, "was to pay attention to everything and not leave out details but understand what’s important and what’s not in terms of details.” It is clear from talking with her that Ms. Fisher brings this same attention to detail to the admissions process and that everyone benefits from it.

“One thing I learned in law school was to pay attention to everything."

Outside of school, Ms. Fisher is a very creative person. She is a home cook and gardener who likes to use herbs from her garden while cooking. She would rather use her instincts to cook instead of relying completely on recipes when cooking. She is also a very talented writer. If Ms. Fisher didn’t work at Parker, she told us, she would love to be a writer professionally. She hasn’t written a book yet, but if she did write one, the genre would most likely be magical realism (a style of fiction where the "normal" world is infused with magical elements). In addition to her busy work schedule and these hobbies, she also likes to take walks by the lake and look at the moon.

Ms. Fisher has had many accomplishments in her time at Parker and also outside of Parker as well. She works really hard and does an excellent job finding the right student fits for the school. We are all happy and grateful to have her as the director of admissions. We were so thankful to have had the opportunity to interview her.