Versatility is the Key

“Teaching is my first love,” says Educational Studies graduate student Courtney Parker. An alumnus of the Detroit Public Schools Community District, he is now an 11th and 12th grade English language arts and social studies teacher. At 26, he knows he is right where he wants to be, “with the kids of Southeastern High School, teaching in the exact same neighborhood where I grew up.” But he also knows that someday down the road, he may want to work in the field of education in a different capacity.

Parker was initially drawn to the Educational Leadership and Policy (ELP) program because of its versatility. Situated within the Marsal School’s Educational Studies program, ELP is designed for students who want to improve schools, instruction, and K-12 students’ educational outcomes. He likes that the preparation he receives in ELP will equip him to access many different avenues of education in the future, “whether it be policy, or whether it be working with non-profits, or community organizations, or other stakeholders.” Furthermore, Parker’s personal goals align with Educational Studies’ commitment to educational equity and justice. Ultimately, he aims to mobilize community resources and implement equity-focused strategies to support students and enhance outcomes. He also hopes to encourage more Black teachers to join the profession.

As a full-time teacher, Parker is able to take classes part-time to complete his degree. Mid-way through the program, his favorite classes have included Educational Policy Analysis, taught by Professor Kara Finnigan, which provides an introduction to basic concepts and processes of policy analysis in education. “We were writing op-eds, really thinking of ourselves as participatory stakeholders,” says Parker. “Most of us are teachers currently, or were teachers in the past. The class got us thinking about what it means for us to make decisions as leaders.”

He also notes the course Research and Educational Practice, which he took with Professor Vilma Mesa. This course provides an overview of research methods used in educational inquiry, and enables students to review a variety of research studies done in education and to acquire facility in interpreting them. “Our research made us feel capable—not only as analysts, but as researchers who can conduct and look at research as pieces that need to be broken apart and understood,” he says. He credits his advisors, Maria Coolican and Maren Oberman, with keeping lines of communication open at all times, being available to advise on questions, say, about future job opportunities, or about new directions he would like to explore in his academic pursuits.

“I didn’t expect the world to change so much and so fast since I’ve been at Michigan,” says Parker. “But the university isn’t a place that shields you from that. It enables you to do something about it, and to think about the world not as a finite, one-dimensional place, but as a place that is constantly changing.”

To those considering graduate study at the Marsal School, Parker says, “Know that you are enough. Everything that you bring with you will enhance the experience that is being a University of Michigan student.”