Evans addressed the California Association for Independent Schools, Northern Regional Meeting, at Head Royce School in Oakland. Her talk was entitled “Begin at the Beginning: Implementing Design Thinking.” In July 2015, she spoke at the Symposium on Global Educational Innovations at Seattle Pacific University. Her topic was “Design Thinking as a Means to Developing Critical Habits of Mind.” Parker faculty members were well represented at the San Diego County Independent and Private Schools Educational Conference in March 2015. Presenters included: Rona Dosick, Learning Center Director Middle School Science Team: Binh Ngo, Sergina Bach, Jennifer Dorsey and Myles Vandergrift Lower School: Heather Gray, Carrie Hasler, Laurie Brae and Blair Spearn
Parker was a major presence at the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) annual conference held in San Diego in early October 2015. The conference was co-chaired by Terri Devine, Dean of College Counseling, and her husband, Ed Devine, Regional Director of Admission at Lafayette College, Pennsylvania. Parker’s two College Counseling Directors also played important roles. Jasmin Taylor co-chaired the Hospitality Committee and Bob Hurley hosted a welcome reception at Petco Park for representatives of more than 80 colleges. Kevin Yaley, Head of School, was invited by the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools to cochair an accreditation committee reviewing the Punahou School in Honolulu. Among the school’s notable alumni are President Barack Obama and Parker’s own robotics teacher, Ryan Griggs.
LOOKING AHEAD Tom Crowley, Director of Global Studies, and Jen Hayman, Assistant Director of Global Studies, will give a talk on “Building a K-12 Global Studies Program” to a meeting of educators from Northern California independent schools on Oct. 30, 2015, at Crystal Springs Uplands School. Parker will be well represented at the annual joint conference of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and National Association for Independent Schools (NAIS) in New York in February 2016. Kevin Yaley and Shara Freeman, Head of Advancement, will speak about the impact of philanthropy on distinguishing the student experience. At NAIS, Laurynn Evans, Laurie Brae and Sergina Bach will share more about Parker’s groundbreaking work on Design Thinking instruction.
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