Constance Parker moved from being a student teacher to a full-time teacher overnight. Parker was selected out of her 14 classmates to co-teach Pre-Calculus and Algebra II classes at CHS with her professor Laurie Hochrein. The vacant teaching position was a result of Adelaide Barlow returning to HHS for the second semester of the 24-25 school year.
Parker quickly learned to navigate the halls of CHS. She has officially joined CHS staff for the 2025-2026 school year, after serving as a substitute teacher the previous year while also being a full-time student. Parker
“I graduated college on a Saturday, and I worked on Monday. I had a very quick turnaround from being a student to being a full-time teacher that not everyone I went to school with had.”
Parker describes herself as introverted, explaining that at times, she would step away from the heavy workload to take care of herself. As Parker settled into CHS, she has no regrets going from a college student right to a teacher.
“I really liked the path that I took, I only had to leave student teaching two weeks early, but I think that it was such a special experience to get to have a job right out,” Parker said. Parker got special permission from the Dean of University of Michigan to cut two weeks of student teaching hours and still be eligible to graduate.
Though she was in the midst of a very stressful switch, Parker managed to keep a positive outlook, and she reminds herself that she was chosen to become a teacher early for a reason.
“It was such a good experience to know that I was doing something right, to get to have a job right away,” Parker said. Parker believes that through her student observations Hochrein thought she was strong enough to go on her own.
“I was honored when she did it, and whether or not she was right, I’m really glad that she believed in me,” Parker said.
Parker is now a full-time teacher at Community, and with that came the perks being a forum leader. Parker was a camp counselor and she’s going to implement the skills she learned to have an engaging forum.
“I have some experience planning cabin nights at my summer camp, getting a whole group together and getting big ideas,” Parker said. I really am competitive, so I do like a good competition. I’m trying to bring as much energy as I can to it.”
In her own classroom, Parker wants to remember Hochrein’s emphasis on the importance of being there for her students.
“She did a very good job about being very purposeful about how she was reaching out to students and talking and making it clear that she is always there in a way,” Parker said.
