The chief strategic officer for Portland Public Schools resigned last week after questions from The Oregonian/OregonLive revealed her claim to have a Ph.D. in social policy from the prestigious London School of Economics could not be verified.

It is unclear if Laura Parker's resignation is related to the school district's inability to verify she holds the degree, which she has touted on her resume for years. Her resignation letter blames her departure on a struggle to balance work and life and indicates she may work with the district again.

It's been more than five months since The Oregonian/OregonLive first raised questions about the veracity of Parker's professional claims. The district conducted an official verification check after a journalist's repeated insistence.

Oregon law forbids people from claiming academic degrees they do not actually hold and makes it punishable by a penalty of up to $1,000.

Last fall, The Oregonian/OregonLive tried to verify Parker's degree with three different London School of Economics employees, all of whom told a reporter Parker appeared to not have attended the university. A reporter's friend studying at the affiliated University of London inquired in person and was also told no record of Parker existed.

When Portland Public Schools human resources employees tried repeatedly to have London School of Economics confirm her credential, officials told Portland Public Schools they could find no record Parker had ever enrolled there, email exchanges between the district and the London university from January to February show.

Thursday evening the district's human resources chief issued a statement to The Oregonian/OregonLive. "Laura has informed us that she has requested an official copy of her transcript to be sent to Portland Public Schools," Chief of Talent and Culture Kylie Rogers wrote. "In the meantime, we have received Laura's resignation."

Rogers told Parker the week of April 9 that her degree could not be verified. District spokeswoman Stephanie Cameron said Parker gave "reasonable explanations" for why her degree could not be verified but refused to state what those were "out of respect for Laura's privacy."

Cameron said Parker told the district early last week that she requested a copy of her transcript and it would arrive in three to four weeks.

Parker's resignation letter indicates she could work with Portland Public Schools in the future.

"While serving as a chief has allowed me to move critical work forward, I have struggled with the balance of work, life, and health," Parker wrote in the April 20 letter. "I appreciate the conversations we've had regarding future opportunities and projects for me at (Portland Public Schools), and I do hope to contribute down the road."

Attempts to reach Parker were unsuccessful, but she has previously said she would not discuss her degree.

Rogers' statement said as a result of the ordeal, the district has changed practices. Job applicants will be required to provide transcripts to verify all degrees listed on their applications. Previously, Portland Public Schools only checked the degree required to hold the position. In Parker's case, that meant verifying her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University.

Parker joined Portland Public Schools in March 2017 as senior director of system planning and performance but was quickly promoted into a new executive-level position. "The focus of this new position is to align and inform strategic planning and resource allocation to support student success," said a memo about her promotion.

She played a key early role in shaping and explaining the district's botched efforts to split up its school for highly gifted students, Access Academy.



Her resignation became public Monday along with an announcement that the district would slash dozens of jobs as part of a reorganization. It's the most major sweeping staffing change Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero has made since he started the job in October.

Parker's letter noted her resignation was in line with "discussions regarding organizational structure."

"I'm proud of the organizational transformation that has occurred in my departments, focusing teams on increased service and investments for our schools despite the shortage of resources," Parker wrote.

Parker came to Portland Public Schools from Vancouver Public Schools and records show she also told that district she had a doctorate from the London School of Economics.

The Oregonian/OregonLive first raised questions about Parker's credentials in October. At that time, Parker was the public face of divisive district boundary changes. She largely faded from public view after contentious board meetings on that topic.

Her role in the controversial decision to split Access Academy caused parents and teachers to wonder about Parker's educational philosophy and values. At the time, there were rumors students at the revamped Access program would spend most of their time learning at a computer, and that approach worried some people.



The best place for insight, some thought, would be her dissertation. Trouble was, a record of it couldn't be found.



The Oregonian/OregonLive attempted to look up Parker's dissertation and, when the news outlet could not locate it, tried to ask her about it.



Parker at first told The Oregonian/OregonLive that she was "happy to share" her academic background.



But weeks went by. Eventually, after the news outlet kept on the issue, district spokesman Dave Northfield wrote, "She is politely declining to share her dissertation with you. It's not a public record. She is also politely declining the offer to speak to you."

— Bethany Barnes

Got a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email Bethany: bbarnes@oregonian.com