Dr. Ta’Keshia Parker is a visionary leader celebrated for her transformative impact on school culture, student wellness, and instructional excellence. Recently honored as the 2026 St. Louis Suburban Distinguished Principal and the 2025 MOSHAPE Administrator of the Year, Dr. Parker is recognized for her dedication to the "whole child." Since assuming the role of Principal at Sappington Elementary in 2017, she has cultivated an environment where students and staff feel empowered to thrive as learners and leaders.

Dr. Parker began her education career in 2006 as a classroom teacher at Keysor Elementary in the Kirkwood School District. Over nine years, she served as a 3rd and 5th-grade teacher, where her dedication to excellence resulted in being named the 2015 Keysor Elementary Teacher of the Year and the 2015 Kirkwood District Teacher of the Year. During her tenure, she served as a Promethean Activclassroom Instructor and as an Administrative Intern, successfully restructuring the "Jump Start" summer program to improve student readiness. In 2015, she joined Lindbergh Schools as an Assistant Principal before being named Principal of Sappington Elementary in 2017.

A dedicated instructional practitioner, Dr. Parker has a long-standing history of seeking research-based partnerships. She was a co-recipient of the MU Partnership for Educational Renewal Grant, leading teachers through "Lesson Study" inquiry, and partnered with the STEMpact Educator Program to integrate science and math across the curriculum. These efforts, combined with an Edcamp Impact Grant, underscore her commitment to providing teachers with high-level resources necessary to foster critical thinking and global citizenship.

Under Dr. Parker’s guidance, Sappington achieved significant academic milestones. In 2025, she reported exceptional student growth, noting that 88% of first-graders demonstrated reading gains while 92% of kindergartners showed growth in math. Her leadership centers on Response to Intervention (RTI), a multi-tiered framework used to proactively support students' academic and behavioral needs. Since April 2022, she has sponsored four successive teacher cohorts to attend the RTI at Work summit. This intentional investment in her team’s professional learning empowered a teacher-driven redesign of Sappington’s master schedule, which now structurally guarantees time for Tier 1 core instruction, Tier 2 targeted intervention, and Social Emotional Learning, ensuring a systematic and sustainable way to respond when students struggle and extend learning when they excel.

Launched in 2018, the Book of the Month initiative is an organic, teacher-led process where staff gather each spring to select texts for the upcoming year. Collaborating with the District Literacy Coach and the Director of Belonging and Character Education, they curate books centered on empathy and diversity. By displaying these texts in every learning space, Dr. Parker ensures the entire school community shares a unified message. This is further supported by her work in school-based wellness, including establishing Sappington’s innovative Wellness Room and implementing schoolwide "Brain Break" habits.

Dr. Parker is a National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) Fellow for the Women in Leadership Community. In this role, she champions the mission to connect women in education leadership, providing a space to share experiences and address professional challenges. As a National Certified Mentor, she also provides coaching to early-career principals, ensuring the professional well-being of administrators.

Dr. Parker’s dedication to student success is mirrored in her decades-long service with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Within the Omicron Eta Omega Chapter, she chaired the Black College Bus Tour for three years, exposing students to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Additionally, she chaired the chapter’s Scholarship Program for six years, overseeing a rigorous selection process to award financial aid to high-achieving seniors. These roles reflect her belief that every child deserves a supported path to their future.

Dr. Parker earned her Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from Maryville University. She finds profound joy in serving the youth and community, a purpose anchored by the love of her family, including her aunt, Patricia Heavens-Kosh, and cousin, Dr. Ta’Mika Bradley.