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About Laura Parks, Ph.D.

Laura Parks (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Teacher Education Department. Laura recently completed her dissertation and Ph.D. coursework at Vanderbilt University with a focus on racial equity and disrupting adult/youth power dynamics through Restorative Practices and Youth Participatory Action Research. Before that, Laura taught for eight years in Metro Nashville Public Schools, where she taught high school English, coordinated Restorative Practices, and founded and currently leads Restorative Students Leaders.

When she’s not teaching, Laura can be found hiking with her wife and two dogs, drinking tea while reading a cozy mystery, or floating down the Animas River.

Parks CV 2025

Selected Publications

• Parks, L.F. and Milner, H.R. (in review). Youth talk about culturally responsive teaching and learning in outside-of-school contexts. Curriculum Inquiry. 
• Parks, L.F. (2024). Opportunity centered teaching: A focus on middle school students. Vignette in Walker-Dalhouse, D., & Risko, V. J.  New York: Teachers College Press. 

Selected Conference Presentations

• Parks, L., Murray, I., Lane-Bonds, B. (2025, April 26). Presenting Author, Youth Talk About Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning in an Outside-of-School Contexts. In Paper Session, How Out-of-School Time Spaces Are (or Are Not) Serving Marginalized Communities. 2025 AERA Annual Meeting. Denver, CO. United States.
• Parks, L., Murray, I., Lane-Bonds, B. (2025, April 24). Presenting Author, Co-Creating Psychologically Safe Environments for the Development of Youth Critical Consciousness. In Paper Session, Listening to Youth Voices in Research, Education, and Social Action. 2025 AERA Annual Meeting. Denver, CO. United States.
• Parks, L. (2025, April 23). Student-Teacher Collaborative Dialogue Sessions in a U.S. Middle School. In Roundtable Session, Pedagogy, Dialogues, and Ethics in Teacher Education. 2025 AERA Annual Meeting. Denver, CO. United States.
• Parks, L. (2024, July 31). Working with your students: Restorative practices in k-12 schools. 2024 Jumpstart Conference held by The Initiative for Race Research and Justice. Nashville, Tennessee. United States.
• Parks, L. (2024, April 19). Presenting Author, Holding up the mic: What youth say they need in order to talk about topics affecting their lives. In Flash Talks, Considerations for Policy and Intervention Regarding School Discipline and Violence. 2024 SRA Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL. United States.
• Parks, L. (2024, April 14). Presenting Author, Restorative practices implementation and evaluation in U.S. k-12 Schools: A systematic literature review. In roundtable session, Restorative Approaches for Supporting School Community, Climate, and Culture. 2024 AERA Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA United States.
• Parks, L. (2024, April 13). Presenting Author and Discussant, Exploring the production of well-being for and by adolescents. On paper, Holding up the mic: What youth say they need in order to talk about topics affecting their lives. 2024 AERA Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA United States.
• Parks, L. (2024, April 13). Presenting Author, Conceptions of restorative practices: A systematic literature review.  In Paper Session, Innovations in School Violence Prevention and Intervention. 2024 AERA Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA United States.
• Milner, H.R. & Parks, L. (2024, April 11). Presenting Author, Designing culturally responsive teaching in outside-of-school Spaces. In Presidential Paper Session, Expanding on the Scholarship of a Pioneer Advocate for Racial Justice. 2024 AERA Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA United States.
• Fittz, L. (2023, June 5) Presenting Author, Holding up the mic: What youth say they need in order to talk about topics affecting their lives.  2023 Southeast Conference on School Climate. Savannah, GA United States. 
• Fittz, L. (2023, April 15). Presenting Author, Virtual Symposium: Interrogating opportunity gaps: The role of educational research in consequential truths, justices, and equity. 2023 AERA Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL United States.
• Fittz, L. (2023, April 15). Presenting Author, Centering student voices in understanding restorative practices implementation. In Paper Session: New Insights on Restorative and Trauma-Centered Approaches. 2023 AERA Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL United States.
• Patrick, S., Guthrie, J., Fittz, L. (2023, April 14). Exploring the professional consequences of instructional isolation: A mixed-methods study. 2023 AERA Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL United States.
• Fittz, L. (2022, January 25). Centering student voices in understanding restorative practices implementation. International Institute of Restorative Practices World Conference. Virtual. 
• Fittz, L. (2022, July 3).  Centering student voices in understanding restorative practices implementation. 5th International Conference on Research in Education. Munich, Germany. 
• Fittz, L. (2022, June 6-8). Centering student voices in understanding restorative practices implementation. Southeastern Conference on School Climate Change. Savannah, GA, United States. 
• Best, B.O., Fittz, L., & Milner, H.R. (2022, April 22-25). Presidential Session: Studying systems of a school-to-prison pipeline and restorative justice. 2022 AERA Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, United States.
• Fittz, L. (2022, March 12) Centering student voices in understanding restorative practices implementation. LSU Curriculum Camp Conference

Public Scholarship

• Parks, L.F. (2024). NPR; WPLN (Nashville Public Radio). 
• Milner, H.R., Lane-Bonds, D. Fittz, L., Best, B., Murray, I., Best, A. (2023). . The Tennessean. 
• Fittz, L. (2022). STEM Opportunities in Prison Settings (STEM-OPS).

Selected Media

• 2021, , YouTube
• 2021, , The Thoughtful Teacher Podcast  
• 2021, , Lesson Impossible Podcast
• 2019, , The Tennessean 
• 2019, , YouTube
• 2017, , YouTube                        
• 2017, , YouTube

Awards and Highlights

• 2025, Outstanding Service Award, Urban Education Journal
• 2023, James Lawson Institute Research Award 
• 2020, Nashville Public Education Foundation Blue Ribbon Teacher Award
• 2019, Nashville Public Education Foundation Inspiring Innovation Award
• 2016, James R. Meadows Learning, Diversity, and Urban Studies Scholarship 
• 2014-2020, Level 5 Teacher in Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools