PV High is a school filled with many teachers who care about their job and the students that they teach. One of said teachers that PV High has is music and AVID teacher Shellie Parkinson.
She has been at PV High since it reopened over 23 years ago, and she feels “lucky that the job opened at the right time for me, as they needed a teacher when the school reopened in 2002,” said Parkinson.
In those years she has taught numerous classes, such as AVID, Jazz Band, Orchestra, Marching Band, Concert Band, AP Music Theory, and even a guitar class.
Her impact on students is also something that can’t be ignored, with students such as junior Timothy Yang saying that “her room has been a place of comfort and family in this large and often troubled world.”
Her style of teaching has helped many students have amazing pathways in their careers.
“I’ve seen successful students who have become college professors and are doctors, and that makes me feel like I’ve done a great job,” said Parkinson.
With all these years of teaching, she has had some highlighted moments that both she and her students found particularly memorable.
Parkinson fondly remembers things like “taking the band to China during the 2008 Olympics, which was… really cool for me to witness in person,” or another time when they “did a recording session with John Legend right when he started his career, which was also really amazing.”
This isn’t the only benefit that she gets out of her employment at PVHS, since she also gets to live in area she’s come to love.
Parkinson said that she “loves this area, especially Redondo Beach. It feels like a dream that I can live on the beach and drive eight minutes to scenic spots.”
Aside from teaching, she also has many different hobbies like growing plants, hanging around her patio in her apartment, reading, and travelling during the summer.
Parkinson said that she loves “big trips every year, like last year I went to Australia and New Zealand, and this year I am thinking about going to Greece this upcoming summer.”
Overall, Ms. P has made herself a trusted person whom students and even teachers can look up to and share their thoughts with. “I just know that her students are in the hands of a safe person that they can go to and that they trust,” said fellow teacher Allyson Klabe.