Kay Parke
Chair, English Department
Teacher, English IV, AP English Literature, Purely Poetry
Faculty Sponsor, Priceless People Mentorship Program
The Muse literary magazine and TMI Book Club
Coates Hall 131
(210) 564-6270
k.parke@tmi-sa.org
Kay Parke could be considered the literary muse of TMI, deeply involved as she is in encouraging students’ growth as readers, writers and speakers. Besides teaching some of the most advanced English courses in Upper School, she also works with student organizations and other activities that focus on the value of communications.
Mrs. Parke holds a bachelor’s degree with a double major in English and French from Rhodes College, a master’s in comparative literature from Purdue University and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. She holds a Texas Master Teacher certificate and is a certified teacher of Advanced Placement (AP) Literature.
Before coming to TMI in 2003, Mrs. Parke had a 20-year management career at AT&T. “Returning to teaching has allowed me to share the benefits of a liberal arts education which teaches students to think clearly and to communicate effectively,” she says. “Leadership in business, or anywhere else, begins with effective communication.”
At TMI, she has taught English IV (senior English), AP English Literature, as well as the electives Purely Poetry, the Modern Novel and the Bible as Literature. Previously, she taught college-level freshman composition and French.
Beyond the classroom, she is a member of the Academic Policy Committee, which establishes school academic standards and guidelines, and is the coordinator for senior chapel talks, supervising the drafting of student speeches and evaluation of the talks by faculty.
As senior dorm parent of Abbott Hall, Mrs. Parke lives full time in the dorm, serving as parent in absentia for the twelve girls who live there, counseling them on everything from homework to homesickness.
Mrs. Parke also led a recent TMI travel tour of Ireland, visiting places of literary and cultural significance. She has visited nine countries and has set a personal goal of visiting three new countries each year.
As much as Mrs. Parke enjoys travel, literature is her first love. She writes poetry in her spare time, serves as faculty sponsor of TheMuse, TMI’s literary magazine, and of the TMI Book Club, a student group that has read and discussed works such as Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut. With the students of the Purely Poetry class, she also was the organizer of lunchtime poetry readings in honor of Shakespeare’s birthday and National Poetry Month.
Mrs. Parke also coordinates TMI’s award-winning mentorship program, Priceless People. Founded in 2005, the program matches TMI student leaders with students identified with leadership potential at nearby Leon Springs Elementary School. In May 2009, Mrs. Parke was the recipient for Priceless People of a Community Partners award for Outstanding Community Organization from North Side Independent School District.
She has a husband and two daughters, one a current TMI student and one who graduated in 2007. She also has a black standard poodle named Lady.
|