Scott Parnell
I believe in emphasizing the intellectual tradition of Christianity. Before moving into parish ministry, I taught Systematic Theology, Church History, and Scripture as a lay and then an ordained person in Episcopal Schools across the county - it was a joyful exercise in taking complex ideas and making them accessible to middle and high school students. The most recent school, Christchurch School (VA), emphasized a differentiated skills-based assessment model. My experience crafting assessments to meet students with different learning types and abilities was essential: God makes us all different, so we should have multiple ways for students to demonstrate what they've learned. Just as the secular-education world is evolving, seminary education is evolving, which implies that GOE assessments should be evolving, too. Bringing the experience of crafting skills-based differentiated evaluations (and the practice of assessing them) would contribute to the work of the GBEC. I have also been appointed to the Diocese of Virginia Commission on Ministry and Board of Examining Chaplains.