Parsons to Retire

PRINCIPAL PARSONS

prepares to leave CMR

It has been 37 years since Kerry Parsons graduated from CMR. Throughout his years here he has been a student, teacher, coach, and eventually, principal. This year he faces his final year in the CMR community.

by Ava Donahue, staff writer

Kerry Parsons, 1984. Photo from 1984 CMR yearbook (above). Kerry Parsons, 2021. Photo by Taylor Willmarth (right).

Principal Kerry Parsons has been a part of the CMR community since he was a little kid, coming to CMR to watch sporting events. He went to high school here and went through years of hard work to become the leader of his alma mater. The journey to get to the position he is in now has been long and took a lot of dedication. Now, years later, he faces the end of his commitment to the CMR community. “It’s a journey to just get a degree to become a teacher. All the professional development, learning, training, preparation, and then going beyond that to get an advanced degree in educational leadership, that was a challenge,” Parsons said. “I did that while I was raising a family of young kids, coaching, and teaching. The opportunity to become an associate principal, and then eventually opportunity to become a principal; it just takes a lot of dedication and perseverance to get to the point. I’m fortunate to be able to have that opportunity.” Parsons graduated from CMR in 1984, and before he returned to the school as an educator, he taught at a small school in Medicine Lake, a small community in northeastern Montana. There he was a science teacher, P.E. teacher, and basketball coach for five years. Still, it was always a dream of his to get back to CMR and so he did. “It was kind of a dream of mine to get back and eventually teach at the school I graduated from. It was really hard to become a teacher in Great Falls Public Schools 27 years ago. There was a lot of demand, a lot of applicants. I was actually going to summer school to work on my master’s degree and got a call for an interview,” Parsons said. “At the time, Paris Gibson was a middle school and CMR of course, they both interviewed me. I was actually given the choice to come to Great Falls to teach either at Paris or CMR, and I chose CMR. I was very happy and felt very fortunate that I was selected and able to come back to CMR.” Parsons secured the job, but that was only the beginning of his journey. He went from being a CMR student and teacher, to associate principal, and finally the leader of the community. He has had many challenges along the way to his position. “Trying to lead in a large, comprehensive high school such as CMR. Trying to provide the structure and management to make sure students are getting the right opportunities and behaving. Trying to provide structures for teachers to do what they love to do and teach each and every day,” Parsons said. “There’s a lot of challenges with that every day from managing a budget, managing the facility, building the aux gym, and the STEM [building]. That whole construction project for a couple years. Those are all challenges we’ve faced, but we all face challenges, and it’s what we signed up for. It’s been hard and it’s been challenging, but it’s also been very rewarding to see it pay off and allow the kids and staff to have the opportunities we have at this high school.” Although Parsons has faced a lot of challenges in his career, he still sees and appreciates all of the positives within the community. “Just being a part of seeing the pride that is associated with this high school. It’s pretty wide spread to see that,” Parsons said. “Obviously the last couple of years have been a challenge with COVID, but there’s still a lot of positive things that occur each and every day in the classrooms, on the playing field, and everywhere else.” Through all of his highs and lows in leading the Rustlers, Parsons maintains his motivation by working to provide the best education possible for all students. “When we sign up to be an educator, our job is to work hard every day to provide the best experience for our students and best opportunities to grow,” Parsons said. “Some of those experiences are very subtle, some of those experiences you never really see the benefits of them until later on. Just trying to do what’s best for the youth in our community and give them a great opportunity to experience what CMR has to offer.” In the end, although working as an educator can be a very difficult job, it is also rewarding to see what students become after their time at CMR. “Just being around schools. The excitement from the students, the excitement from the activities, the sense of accomplishment when things go well. Being an educator is very challenging, but it’s also very rewarding. And then as I said, being able to cross paths with people that you have taught or coached years ago and seeing what they have turned into as adults, that’s just pretty awesome.” After Parsons retires, he plans to move on and find more opportunities in the workforce. Leading a school is a difficult job, so Parsons hopes for some flexibility within his schedule after he retires. “Certainly I’m looking at other opportunities because I still think I have things to offer in the workforce. I also know I’m looking forward to not being tied to the rigors of a school administrator, which is basically a year-round job, late nights, weekends. So maybe a little bit of flexibility and freedom in my daily schedule will be nice to look forward to. I will certainly be doing something -- not sure what that is yet.”