Sandi Parrish was born in Germany to a German mother and a U.S. Army dad. While her early years were filled with travel, she’s proud to call herself a Southern girl, who loves the food, culture and tree-filled countryside. Mother of two adult sons, Sandi inherited an adult daughter from her late husband, whose family has given Sandy four grandchildren. They call her “Oma,” (grandmother in German). She treasures her time with them and giving back to her community and to Georgia. She likes camping and being outdoors as much as she can.
Sandi is a teacher at Pine Grove Elementary School in Lowndes County where she was a student in the fourth and fifth grades. She was ecstatic to be offered a teaching job there and has now served for 27 years. She has taught many grades and currently is the virtual ELA/Science teacher. Sandi was introduced to PLT in 2005 when Barbara Boler of the Langdale Company came to a school meeting to invite teachers to a workshop that would be held at the campus farmhouse. Sandi attended the workshop, and by the end of the day had already noted corresponding lessons in the PLT activity guide that she could use the following school year. The next summer she attended the Georgia Teacher Conservation Workshop and volunteered to work with Georgia PLT. She and a teacher friend, Missy Eason, had a dream to turn the campus farmhouse into a field trip destination for Lowndes County students and a place to hold PLT workshops and STEAM projects.
Sandi received the honor of Georgia PLT’s Outstanding Educator of the Year in 2007. She actively encourages teachers in her school to attend PLT workshops, and many in her school are PLT certified. She was invited serve on the Georgia PLT State Steering Committee as an educator advisor. This year, Sandi serves as the 2020 Chair of the Committee. During her time as Chair, Sandi has led the committee’s change from quarterly in-person meetings to quarterly Zoom meetings, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Meetings have been successfully condensed to half the in-person time.
Sandi enjoys serving on the State Steering Committee to help put PLT in every hand. As she meets with DNR/State Park employees, tree farmers, educators and parents, she enthusiastically shares the PLT story. Sandi understands the PLT vision and enjoys spreading its mission throughout Georgia.
