District Administration - May 2007 - (Page 24)

Kalamazoo (Mich.)Public Schools AdministratorProfile AASA Superintendent of the Year By Kevin Butler SUPERINTENDENT KRISTA PAR ent begins her weekday workouts at 4:30 a.m., although as superintendent of the South Lane School District in Cottage Grove, Ore., she gets plenty of exercise in the morning. The energetic leader doesn’t allow herself to completely relax at her desk at work during the day. A former physical education teacher, Parent now uses an exercise ball as her desk chair, which gives her muscles an excellent workout throughout the day. Some staff members have followed suit. “I think we spend way too much time in the office, unfortunately,” says Parent, who was named the 2007 National Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators and ARAMARK Education, which co-sponsor the Superintendent of the Year program. “This [exercise ball] gives us a way to exercise while doing that.” When AASA officials were reviewing candidates for the award, they were struck not only by Parent’s accomplishments but her unusual career path. Unlike other superintendents, who typically work at several districts throughout their careers, Parent began teaching at the South Lane School District in 1985 and stayed there, becoming superintendent 16 years later. Her long tenure in a single district gives Parent insights that superintendents who have been in districts for only a few years may not have, says Darlene Pierce, director of the National Superintendent of the Year program. Parent, 45, earned the honor for demonstrating excellence in the areas of professionalism, communication, community involvement, and “leadership for learning,” defined as creativity in successfully meeting the needs of students. 24 May 2007 Moreover, a national panel of educators, business leaders and government officials selected Parent for “increasing student achievement and bringing staff together to change the way they do their work,” says AASA Executive Director Paul Houston. Dr. Krista Parent Superintendent, South Lane (Ore.) School District Age: 45 Salary: $105,000 Tenure: 6 years Students: 3,000 Graduation Rate: 93% Staff and Faculty: 330 Schools: 11 Realizing her vocation: “I’ve just been a teacher all my life. I was kind of one of those natural leaders. I like sharing information with people.” Working Together The spirit of teamwork is familiar to Parent, who coached the women’s basketball and volleyball teams at Lincoln Middle School in 1985 when she began teaching after earning her bachelor’s degree in physical education. She played softball at the University of Oregon and in her youth devoted much of her time to volleyball, basketball and track. “I think that everything about my athletic life, whether it was being an athlete or a coach, has helped me as a superintendent,” she says. “Things like being incredibly organized, being very disciplined … seeing the big picture of where you want to go to but putting the steps in place to get there.” And since Parent became superintendent in 2001, the district has made enormous strides. The district’s high school in the past four years has seen a dramatic improvement in student performance. In the 2002-2003 school year, 38 percent of the school’s students met state reading standards on assessments. In 2005-2006, after Parent implemented new reading programs, 63 percent of students did. And the district has seen similar gains in math with a program funded by a National Science Foundation grant that allows teachers and principals to be trained by Oregon State University faculty in math teaching strategies. Parent, who grew up in Central Point, Ore., knew she wanted to be a teacher from the age of 5, when she would come home from school and teach 4-year-olds what she learned in school. “I’ve just been a teacher all my life,” she says. “I was kind of one of those natural leaders. I like sharing information with people.” As Lincoln Middle School’s coach of District Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - May 2007

Contents
Editor’s Letter
Letters
News Update
Inside the Law
Curriculum Update
Administrator Profile
District Profi le
Focal Points for Pre-K8 Math
Games Students Play
Healthy Choices
Tragic Lessons
Learning with Personal Media Players
New Products
Computer Literature
Problem Solution
Professional Opinion
Speaking Out
Online Edge
Calendar of Events
Research Corner

District Administration - May 2007

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