nothin Career Gets A Makeover | New Haven Independent

Career Gets A Makeover

Aliyya Swaby Photo

Parrish, Wallace.

Miles Wallace was worried about Career High School getting a new principal just as he started his senior year.

But the transition has been smooth,” and he is expects to finish the year strong.

New Principal Zakia Parrish greeted Wallace by name and is in the process of learning the names of about 637 other students at 140 Legion Ave. this fall. As she works to build connections at Career, local biotech company Alexion Pharmaceuticals helped to give the physical school a facelift Friday, painting murals and teaching workshops for its Global Day of Service.

Parrish was principal of Creed/Hyde School for the past three years before being transferred to Career. She started in New Haven Public Schools as a science teacher at Career.

Besides learning names, she has been busy working with teachers and students to focus on social-emotional learning for the upcoming year.

We’re incorporating some restorative practices,” she said, focusing on supporting students instead of suspending or expelling them. She is working with teachers in grade-level teams to hear ideas for changes, to ensure teachers have a voice.”

One of the other major plans: building partnerships with community organizations.

Friday’s partnership with Alexion is a step in the right direction,” Parrish said. The company’s employees flooded the halls with blue shirts on and paintbrushes in hand, to paint a series of murals around the building. They also led workshops for students on financial literacy and solar energy from morning through afternoon.

Alexion CEO David Hallal said the Day of Service was intended for employees to volunteer in communities around the world during the workday.

Kelton (right).

I can’t think of a better place” than Career, Hallal said, when explaining why it was a volunteer site for the Day of Service. The school has a large health and science program, dovetailing with the interests of the pharmaceutical company.

The workshops allowed Alexion employees to interact with students, teaching them skills they might not learn in the classroom.

In the financial literacy workshop, Alexion attorney Teresa Kelton taught a group of students how to decipher and write a check, going through the definitions of a routing number and account number.

Students who sat in on the solar energy workshop built a box that incorporated solar power — harnessed to melt a S’more.

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