Superintendent wins national award.

Byline: Karen McCowan The Register-Guard

COTTAGE GROVE - Krista Parent, who rose through the ranks of her rural school district to lead an academic revival, is National Superintendent of the Year.

Parent, superintendent of the South Lane School District since 2001, received the honor early Friday at the American Association of School Administrators national conference in New Orleans. It is the first time the 20-year-old award has gone to a superintendent from Oregon or from such a small district. South Lane, where Parent started as a P.E. teacher 23 years ago, has 2,900 students.

"She impressed everyone in the selection process," said Paul Houston, the association's executive director. "It's clear she's not only a good superintendent, but a very grounded, centered person."

Reached Friday afternoon in New Orleans, Parent described waiting off-stage with three other finalists for the announcement of the award.

"I could see the Teleprompter from where I was standing," she said. "I watched it spell out `And the winner is...' but then there was nothing on the screen. I remember thinking, `Did I really hear my name?' It would be pretty bad to go out onstage if I just imagined it."

She had heard correctly, and the announcement delighted about 35 Oregon officials at the conference, said Kent Hunsaker, executive director of the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators. His group chose Parent its state superintendent of the year last fall.

The national award is well deserved, said Hunsaker, former superintendent of Eugene's Bethel School District.

"I've been out to her district on several occasions, and I know what kind of feelings exist there," he said. "The staff and students have a `We're supported' attitude, no matter where you go in the system."

South Lane is considered a statewide model on "how to communicate with people, how to make them feel a part of things and good about what they're doing," he said - even when Oregon school funding problems forced "tough decisions about where to cut programs.'

"It's a culture of, `We're going to work together to make the best decisions for kids,' ' he said.

Longtime South Lane school board member Leslie Rubenstein, who nominated Parent for the state award, said the national award sends a great message back to Cottage Grove.

"It shows that even small districts can be innovative and a model for larger ones," she said.

Since Parent became superintendent in 2001, Cottage Grove High worked to create a "culture of academic achievement," going from no Advanced Placement classes to six this year.

District-wide, a parent-teacher collaboration to improve literacy has boosted by 25 percent the number of South Lane students meeting or exceeding state reading standards. The improvements came despite 20 percent of district children qualifying for special education and 60 percent qualifying for free or reduced lunches because of low family incomes.

Word of the award quickly reached Cottage Grove on Friday.

"They announced it at the first morning session back there, so I was actually still home in the shower when our special education director, Chris Parra, called," said South Lane staff and student services director Julie DePauw. "My husband handed me the phone, and Chris said, `She won, she won! She's giving her speech right now.' '

In her remarks to about 3,000 administrators, Parent credited her opportunity to go from P.E. teacher and coach to superintendent in one district, in contrast with many administrators who move after three or four years.

"It's not just my longevity, but that of so many of our staff," she explained later. "A lot of people came to South Lane and stayed, which means not having to start over building new relationships all the time. We all know where we stand and what it takes to make things better."

DePauw said district staff, parents and students are planning to surprise Parent with a welcome home celebration when her plane arrives at the Eugene Airport about 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Other area residents are welcome to attend.

But South Lane isn't the only Oregon district with reason to celebrate the news. As part of the national award, a $10,000 scholarship in Parent's name will be awarded this spring to a graduate of her alma mater, Crater High School in Central Point.

"We were not aware of that," an elated Crater assistant principal Jeff Weiss said Friday. "Somebody is going to be very, very fortunate based on her great work."

Weiss said Central Point is well aware of Parent, whose mother, father and two siblings still live in the community. A sister, Robin Reams, is a Crater High employee working on on a school improvement initiative there. Parent's award is "a heck of an honor," he said.

"It tells students here currently that if you work hard and use what you learn, anything's possible," he said.

Besides the scholarship, Parent will receive a gold medallion, a jacket, and a $2,000 U.S. savings bond. The award is co-sponsored by AASA and ARAMARK Education, a private provider of food, facility, uniform and other support services to more than 650 U.S. school districts.