Careers in Education

Krista Parent

Superintendent
South Lane School District
Cottage Grove, Oregon

Accolades:
Named 2007 National Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators

Education:
Bachelor of Science, 1983,  Human Development and Performance, University of Oregon
Master of Science, 1991, Educational Administration, University of Oregon
Doctor of Philosophy, 2004, Educational Leadership, University of Oregon

When Krista Parent started at the UO in 1979 on a softball scholarship, she was planning a career in teaching. After completing her bachelor’s degree and teaching one year at Thurston High School in Springfield, she joined the faculty at Lincoln Junior High in Cottage Grove, and has been with the South Lane School District ever since. Administrators saw great potential in Parent’s leadership style, and seven years later, she was offered a position as assistant principal and athletic director at Cottage Grove High School.

“It was a challenge that was presented to me,” she says. “And I said, ‘Well, I never really thought about it, but, sure, I’ll give it a try!’”

Parent served as curriculum director before becoming assistant superintendent in 1994, then superintendent in 2001. Her  progress up the administrative ladder was bolstered by the UO College of Education’s network of curriculum, programs, and mentoring. “I can’t say enough about my UO experience,” Parent says. “I have people from all three of my programs that I am still in touch with…. They are partly responsible for my success.”

Still passionate about teaching, Parent gets her “fix” as an adjunct teacher in the College of Education, and by offering informal educational groups for teachers and administrators in her district. “I really like this work,” she says. “I can’t wait to get to work in the morning.”