Brownwood Elementary School

2003-2004 Masters of Arts, English as a Second Language University of Alabama at Birmingham

1996-2000 Bachelor of Science, Elementary Education Auburn University

1983-1996 Advanced High School Diploma Section High School

2009-Present 2nd Grade Teacher Brownwood Elementary, Scottsboro City Schools

2006-2009 Reading Coach, Grades K-4 Brownwood Elementary

2005-2006 Title I Reading Teacher, Grades 3-4 Brownwood Elementary

Summer 2005 ARI Academy Coach, Grade 3 Cowart Elementary site in Athens

2004-2005 ESL Teacher, Grades 1 & 3 Meadow View Elementary, Shelby County

2003-2004 Classroom Teacher, Grade 3 Calera Elementary, Shelby County

2002-2003 Classroom Teacher, Grade 4 Calera Elementary

2001-2002 Classroom Teacher, Grade 4 West Decatur Elementary, Decatur City

2001-2002 EXCEL After-School Teacher, Grades K-5 West Decatur Elementary 

January-March, 2000 Internship, Grade 2 Smiths Station Elementary, Lee County

For those of you who do not know me, my name is Betsy Parks and I teach second grade at Brownwood Elementary School. I am married to Will Parks and we live here in Scottsboro. Though we do not have any children, we love our dog, Abby, as if she were our child! I enjoy spending time reading, traveling, and shopping.

I attended Section High School from the time I entered Kindergarten until my graduation in 1996. Upon receiving the Marvin H. Campbell scholarship, I moved to Auburn and graduated from Auburn University in 2000. The 2001-2002 school year was my first year as a teacher. I taught 4th grade at West Decatur Elementary in Decatur, Alabama. I also taught all grades in the EXCEL after-school program. The next year, after moving to Hoover, Alabama, I took a job in Shelby County at Calera Elementary as a 4th grade teacher. I moved down to 3rd grade the next year. In December 2004, I received my Master's degree in English as a Second Language (ESL). That year I took a job at Meadow View Elementary as an ESL teacher for 1st and 3rd grades. In the summer of 2005 my husband and I moved back home to Scottsboro where I accepted the Title I Reading Teacher position at Brownwood. That same summer, I worked as a 3rd Grade Academy Coach for the Alabama Reading Academy sponsored by the Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI).

After a year of teaching reading at Brownwood, I transferred into the Reading Coach position as we became an ARI school. During the 2006-2007 school year, I attended many meetings and workshops that helped me increase my knowledge in the area of reading and prepare for the delivery of professional development. In addition, I spent fifteen days teaching ARI reading workshops to our teachers. The rest of my time was spent overseeing the administration and record-keeping of DIBELS (an oral reading assessment) and planning/teaching/reflecting with teachers. My duties during the next two years included the administration and record-keeping of DIBELS, 10 days of meetings and/or workshops each year, and spending time with the wonderful K-4 teachers here at Brownwood.

Now I am back in the classroom after three years as the reading coach. I love teaching kids in all subjects, and had missed some things about the regular classroom. I love this age group and look forward to many years of teaching second grade here at Brownwood with a great staff. Brownwood really is the best in town!