At the time of her Award, there was no aspect of academics at Crooked Creek Elementary School in Indianapolis, IN, that has not been enriched by the work of fourth-grade teacher Keana Parquet. Not only has she boosted achievement among her students, she creates positive change and new opportunities for the school as a whole. Parquet serves on myriad committees, including the Positive Behavior and Support Committee, School Leadership Committee and Curriculum Revision and Textbook Adoption Committee, to name a few. Additionally, as the fourth-grade Team Leader, she adapts instruction for special-needs students and those with drastically different levels of learning. She is currently heading a team of teachers and administrators to implement a primary International Baccalaureate program to give the student body more educational pathways. Parquet also serves on the schoolGÇÖs Global Committee, through which she hosted four Chinese teachers at Crooked Creek Elementary and, in turn, traveled to China where she visited an elementary school to learn about its education techniques and school structure. In the classroom, ParquetGÇÖs strong implementation of data-driven instruction has resulted in impressive gains. She involves her students in this process by creating individual folders where they collect, analyze and review data with her. Students in her class have scored considerably higher than state averages, with fourth-grade test scores on the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress-Plus (ISTEP) ranging from 90-95 percent mastery in science, math and language arts. Students appreciate her impact on their lives so much that they routinely return to her classroom years later to share their accomplishments with her.
2009 M.S., Administration and Supervision
1995 B.A., Xavier University of Louisiana
