Mary
Pearl Barnes Parker was born April 17, 1947 in Woodville, Mississippi. She was the third
of four children born to Florence and Lawrence Barnes. Mary attended the Wilkinson County
Mississippi Public Schools and received her B.S. degree in Elementary Education from
Alcorn State University, where she met and later married her husband, William H. Parker,
Sr. She received the M.S. degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Miami
and did further study at Indiana University.Mary
began her professional teaching career with the Lumberton, Mississippi Public School
System and also taught in the Dade County Public Schools in Miami, Florida. From 1974
through 1981, she was an assistant professor of Early Childhood Education at Prairie View
A&M University. From 1981 until the time of her death, Mary was employed by the
Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, and most recently taught at Feist
Elementary School.Mary
spent more than 30 years educating and motivating young children. It is in honor of this
unwavering devotion to our nation's youth that we dedicate this virtual schoolhouse to
Mary Parker. When we look back on our careers as teachers, and indeed as human beings, may
we all be able to say that we touched as many lives, as many hearts, as Mary Pearl Barnes
Parker.
Apple tree provided by The Mousepad