Jenny Parker was teaching and coaching at Cheltenham Ladies’ College in the United Kingdom when she found something intriguing in her mail.
“My mother sent me an ad from the local paper for an International Rotary Foundation scholarship. I don’t think she was trying to get rid of me, but she said, ‘Hey, thought you might be interested,’ ” says Parker, who grew up on the tiny Isle of Man between Ireland and England.
Parker, it turns out, was interested.
“The only parameter was that you could apply to go to anywhere in the world as long as you could speak the language, and so I mistakenly thought I could speak American,” she says with a laugh. “At that point, I learned there are some critical differences between British English and American English.”
Her application and interview proved successful, however, and her subsequent hop across the pond deposited her at the University of Oregon to earn a master’s degree in Physical Education in 1991: “I’m a Go Ducks Go, Fight Ducks Fight, Win Ducks Win kind of girl,” she says.
Duck alliances aside, Parker promptly made another leap – this time across the country with a full ride to the University of Massachusetts, where in 1996 she completed her Ed.D. in Physical Education Teacher Education.
One final destination awaited in August of 1995 as she continued writing her dissertation.
“Coast to coast,” she says, “and I landed in the middle. I was amazed at how much I could see, because the Midwest is pretty flat, and I had been at U-Mass, where it’s all trees and you don’t see very far.”
NIU was that “middle,” of course, providing Parker with her professional home for the rest of her career.
After teaching for 18 years in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education (KNPE), and spending another decade serving the university as associate vice provost and then executive director for Educator Licensure and Preparation, Parker will retire at the end of the month.
“I’m coming to the end of my 28th year, and it just seems as though the time is right,” Parker says.
“I am fortunate enough to have family on both sides of the Atlantic. My Mum just turned 99 and still lives on the Isle of Man,” she adds, “and I live in DeKalb with my wife, Diane, and I am a very proud stepmom of three: Jen, who has flown the coop and is in her 30s, and Jane, 12, and Logan, 16, who are at home, along with pooches Sammy and Stevie. I’ve thought about it and asked, ‘OK, is this a good life decision for me and my family?’ – and the answer is yes.”
“Yes” is one of her favorite words, including when that response comes from others.
While she was still teaching in KNPE, for example, such affirmatives opened doors for creativity.
“I love teaching. Teaching is where my energy comes from. I love the students. I love the fact they are so excited to go and teach and really make a difference for kids, whether it’s kindergartners or all the way to Grade 12,” Parker says.
“And I’ve loved all the opportunities I was afforded there,” she adds. “I’ve learned that if you ask, people can say ‘no,’ but at least they give you credit for asking. And, oftentimes, they’ll say ‘yes’ – but if you don’t ask, you don’t know, so that empowered me.”
Parker led students on two international trips, one to England to examine its national curriculum for physical education and another to Australia and New Zealand to learn how P.E. teachers in those countries assess their students.
She also served as program director for Physical Education Teacher Education, advised the KNPE Majors Club and launched a mentoring program.
Teaching led to honors. The NIU Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award in 2003. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) Outstanding Mentor of the Year in 2006. The College of Education’s Alyce Kramer Marcus Outstanding Educator Award in 2008.
It also led to learning for the only child of Derek, a furniture salesman and carpet layer, and Betty, who owned a wool shop and eventually sold antiques and second-hand furniture.
Growing up on the Isle of Man “with very different sports” that included field hockey, lacrosse and rounders – “People are like, ‘Rounders? What’s that?’ It’s a different version of softball played primarily in the schools,” Parker says – the chance to teach in the United States allowed her to compare her native and adopted homelands.
“I was pretty active as a high schooler. Field hockey was my main sport, and when I knew that I wanted to teach, I had a wild hair that I wanted to teach P.E. and math, so that’s what I did,” Parker says. “I went to the College of St. Paul and St. Mary in Cheltenham, which is about 90 miles west of London. I did my undergrad degree in physical education and mathematics, and that’s where I got my teaching qualification.”
She thought both majors fit her personality.
“I think I have a mathematical mind. I’m a problem-solver, and I like to figure things out,” she says, “whether it’s a quadratic equation or, right now, it’s, ‘How do I get these entitlements done?’ It’s all kind of wrapped itself up in that way.”
That closed loop is the Office of Educator Licensure and Preparation, which also represents another “yes.”
The late Anne Birberick, NIU’s vice provost from 2011 until her retirement in 2018, had invited Parker to lunch at the Thai Pavilion, where the two “sat for a couple hours talking about the available interim associate vice provost position. Finally, I said, ‘Are you offering me this interim position?’ – and she said, ‘I think I am.’ And so I took the interim position of associate vice provost for a year, liked it and then was fortunate to secure the permanent position the following year.”
In the decade since, Parker has entitled more than 5,000 new educators, maintained compliance with Illinois State Board of Education regulations and overseen the adoption of a central platform for assessment portfolios and clinical placements.
She also facilitated successful national accreditation for initial and advanced programs, served as president of Illinois Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and oversaw the annual processing of more than $1 million in instructional waivers for more than 1300 cooperating teachers each year.
During the pandemic, she steadied the ship for anxious licensure candidates who were gaining hands-on experience in schools throughout the region.
“COVID was tricky. There were layers to it,” Parker says. “The first layer was in March of 2020: I remember looking at the ISBE website, and they kept on putting up which school districts were closing, and it just kept going – and I was like, ‘Oh, this is bad. Clearly, we need a plan.’ ”
Then, the ISBE removed requirements such as the content tests and the edTPA amid “an ongoing slew of changes” while school districts continued to call Parker with updates on their operations.
“We are able, I think, to be pretty immediately responsive to say to candidates, ‘We have your best interests at heart. Whatever we decide, you will not be disenfranchised,’ ” she says.
“The school districts were wonderful. Our students were great. Everybody got entitled for their professional educator license on time – and, certainly, we’re facing a world of teaching that we had not experienced before, but more power to them. They took it, ran with it and have done great things.”
Joining administration also provided Parker with “a different understanding of the way the university works, and certainly the opportunity to connect with the state agencies to understand how they work and how they impact what I do.”
When ISBE relays new rules, for example, it’s Parker’s job to explain those to her NIU colleagues along with what is necessary to remain compliant.
She also successfully guided the university through two accreditation processes and represented NIU in 2020 when the ISBE rolled out its Illinois Educator Preparation Profiles as a continuous improvement and accountability system for the state’s more than 700 approved teacher-licensure programs.
“Administration was perhaps the fastest learning curve I have ever had. It was scary. I started as the interim on Aug. 1, and on Aug. 2, I was down in front of ISBE, defending a program that I never had the reason to interact with,” Parker says. “So, I remain to this day thankful for Anne Birberick, who said, ‘Don’t worry. I’ll come with you.’ ”
But she has loved the job and the support of her Huskie family: “Building relationships with people across campus and with ISBE really made it an easier transition,” she says.
Leaving Anderson Hall did create a longing to teach, however, and Parker filled that gap at Clinton Rosette Middle School in DeKalb.
Every Tuesday morning for eight years, until COVID arrived, she volunteered as an advisor for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders, and participated in a student empowerment program where middle schoolers learned about teambuilding and social-emotional learning.
“It kept me in touch with students,” she says.
Retirement will bring time for her family at home and on the Isle of Man.
“We love to camp, hike and travel. I am also looking forward to more time to ‘puzz it up’ – jigsaw puzzles with Jane! – and to cook, read and run,” Parker says.
“People have said to me, ‘Hey, would you be interested in doing this or that?’ I say, ‘Ask me in August.’ Right now, it’s time for me to just take a step back, regroup, rejuvenate and see places I haven’t seen yet. That’s the plan. I maybe be open to doing other things in the future, but it’s time to hunker down and spend some quality family time.”
Nonetheless, she adds, “I will miss the people. I work with some great people, and my staff is amazing. I will miss interacting with them on the daily – problem-solving and the fires we put out. I will miss interacting with the program faculty and advisors. For me, it’s always about the people.”
