Memorial Service Held for WCPSS Administrator

Diane Kent-Parker, a great friend to teachers and principals, was remembered by several hundred friends and family in a memorial service last night at St. Matthews Missionary Baptist Church in Raleigh.

Several pastors remembered Diane and spoke words of comfort to her family and friends. Superintendent Bill McNeal and other friends from the school system took part in the service. McNeal said the school system would remember Diane by naming the school system's first year teacher award after her.

Kent-Parker passed away unexpectedly Saturday. Kent-Parker had served as the WCPSS Human Resources Department Senior Director for Teacher Recruitment and Retention. Her job was to fill Wake County classrooms with great teachers and she worked tirelessly at it. She died on the day that WCPSS held its Spring Job Fair attracting 1,600 certified teachers who were interested in coming to work in Wake County.

Kent-Parker coordinated job fairs held by the school system in the spring and winter providing teachers interested in Wake County the opportunity to meet school administrators from a number of schools at a central location. Two years ago, she helped to launch a job fair for WCPSS teachers who were looking to work in another school in the district as an effort to help the county keep teachers. She coordinated the school system's efforts to selectively visit teacher job fairs across the country and worked with the Visiting International Faculty program to find great teachers for Wake County.

She worked with WCPSS Human Resources administrators to find hundreds of teachers each year as new schools opened, teachers retired and other teachers left their jobs. Since 2000, Kent-Parker and WCPSS Human Resources staff recruited teachers to fill 26 new schools. They have been working to recruit staff for nine schools due to open for 2006-07.

Kent-Parker came to WCPSS in 1990 as a Human Resources administrator. Prior to that she worked for the NC Department of Public Instruction coordinating an internship program for principals and assistant principals. She worked as a principal, guidance counselor and teacher in other NC school districts, starting out in 1978 as a kindergarten teacher in Wilson County.

Friends offered their remembrances:

• Diane Kent-Parker will truly be missed by all of us in the education community. She was passionate about education, teachers, and Wake County Schools. She was a collaborator with the colleges and universities in the state of North Carolina, and will be missed by directors of teacher education, department chairs, and Deans across this state.

• Ms. Diane Kent-Parker was a great person with a beautiful spirit. She always had kind words to say and did not mind helping others. She will truly be missed.

• I was recruited by Diane in 2002 at NC A&T's job fair and I was very saddened when I heard the news of her passing. My condolences go out to her family. She will be missed by many.

Posted by Bill Poston at 05:12 PM on May 23, 2006 | Leave Feedback

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