Diablo View Middle School, 2016 Winner
Laurie has taught for 22 years. Currently, she teaches English/history core classes at Diablo View Middle School. At that campus, Ms. Parker is known as “Mama Bear” for the way she protects her students as well as her ability to “come out of hibernation” if they misbehave. She believes in instilling intrinsic motivation rather than “bribing” students with rewards. She also uses “grit units” to help her students learn lessons from struggling and failure.