District Administration - May 2007 - (Page 25)

Parent sits on a medicine ball instead of a chair to exercise her muscles through the workday. Many of her staﬀ members have also replaced their desk chairs with exercise balls. both the women’s basketball and volleyball teams, she was tough, possessing high expectations of her students. All coaching is about putting the right people together to be the most eﬀective and get you to the ultimate goal,” she observes. Rising Up the Ranks Parent has always loved teaching, but by 1990 district administrators had recognized her talents and oﬀered her a promotion to assistant principal and athletic director of Cottage Grove High School. The district superintendent later asked her to leave the school for the central oﬃce as district curriculum director. Although she was worried that she’d miss working directly with students and teachers at Cottage Grove, she agreed to take the curriculum director position. “This was a hard decision for me because all the action was in the school and working with the kids,” says Parent, who also holds a master’s degree in educational administration and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Oregon. After her promotion to curriculum www.DistrictAdministration.com director, Parent rose through the ranks of the 3,000-student district, becoming assistant superintendent and, six years ago, superintendent. It was as assistant superintendent of the South Lane district that Parent helped ing a new high school, the district would save money on maintenance costs, which could free up money to be used for other purposes, district oﬃcials explained. “The campaign had a much bigger meaning to people,” she recalls. “I think everything about my athletic life, whether it was being an athlete or a coach, has helped me as a superintendent.” break the district’s losing streak with a bond measure. Voters three times had rejected a measure to raze the outdated Cottage Grove High School and construct a new one. Parent helped steer the district toward a new approach for persuading the voters. The district had been targeting high school parents in its bond campaign. She and other administrators decided to expand their targeted message to elementary school parents to explain the beneﬁts of a new high school. By build- The new strategy worked and in 2000, the $25.9-million bond measure passed overwhelmingly, and the district was able to use the maintenance savings to fund the painting and carpeting of the district’s elementary schools. High School Reading Programs As superintendent, Parent has instituted several innovative changes at Cottage Grove High School that her assistant superintendent, Peter Tromba, feels have been instrumental in the school’s improvement in student performance. May 2007 25 http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

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