The Parish School

Life After Parish 2025
2025-03-20 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Virtual
Do you ever wonder what the next step is for children after The Parish School? Meet a panel of alumni students and their families, as they share their journey and experience in transitioning to a new school.
The alumni panel will consist of:
Lainey Pearson – currently a senior at Texas Tech University – Parish student from 2007-2008Thomas Mazingo – currently a senior at Klein High School – Parish student from 2010-2017Lorien Walter – currently a junior at Memorial Private School – Parish student from 2011-2019
This event will be virtual, please register at the link below.

Register Here

Lorien Wolter

Lorien Wolter’s journey at The Parish School began through Camp Acorn when she had just turned 4-years old in 2011. She had been diagnosed with Autism and echolalia. She did not have spontaneous communication and could only repeat what was said to her. Through the love and dedication of The Parish School staff, she didn’t just learn to communicate; she positively thrived! Her favorite memories of Parish are Adventure Play and playing on campus at night when her parents attended Parent Education events. Lorien is now in her junior year at Memorial Private School. She’s a strong A/B student and is active in the Art Club, Debate and the MPS News Team. Outside of school, she is a member of both the Children of the Republic of Texas and Children of the American Revolution, serving as a state officer for both organizations. One of her strongest skills is public speaking. We are forever grateful to The Parish School!

Thomas Mazingo

Thomas Mazingo was non-verbal until he was 3-years-old. At that time, he was evaluated by Dr. Dan L. Duncan and the diagnostic evaluation said that he was on the spectrum with expressive/receptive speech disorder. Thomas went to Yager Elementary for early childhood and then began The Parish School in 2010. Mostly, his expressions were echolalia. Thomas added Becky Wilson SLP in 2016, and that’s when he began to read and speak more legibly due to the LIPS method. Thomas continues with Becky Wilson today. Thomas left Parish to attend Mittlestadt Elementary in Klein in 2016. Thomas entered Kleb Middle School and the Making Connections program in 2017, which offered Social Thinking. He also started Boy Scouts in 2017 and achieved his Eagle Scout rank in September 2024. Thomas started to work at HEB in October 2024 and was accepted at St Thomas in 2025 in their Pragmatics program which is an associates degree and can become a Bachelor’s degree.

Lainey Pearson

Lainey Pearson attended The Parish School for her Pre-K year. After that, she attended private and public schools for elementary and middle school. She completed high school at The Briarwood School where she was on the golf team, Student Council and consistently made the honor roll. She is now a senior at Texas Tech University majoring in Digital Media and Professional Communication with a minor in Advertising. (Her brother constructed the two weather stations and vegetable stand on the Parish campus for his Eagle project in Lainey’s honor.)

Adult Education: Positively Parenting the Picky Eater
2025-06-05 09:15 - 10:15 | The Schissler Library at The Parish School, 11001 Hammerly Blvd, Houston, TX, 77043, United States
Join us for this presentation in The Schissler Library at The Parish School from 9:15-10:15 a.m. on Thursday, June 5.
If you’re in search of simple strategies to help your young one eat a more varied diet, then this session is for you! During this one-hour adult education session, Rachel Czar and Rachel O’Reilly Tovar explore the reasons children frequently “get stuck” when it comes to food, and how to support them in trying new foods.
Due to limited seating, please RSVP at the link below.

Rachel Czar, OT, SIPT Certified Occupational Therapist
Rachel Czar is a registered and licensed occupational therapist at The Carruth Center. She holds both a BS and MS from the University of Texas Health Science Center and is Sensory Integration Praxis Test (SIPT) Certified. Prior to joining The Carruth Center, Rachel worked as a lead in a DIRFloortime®preschool group in Dallas. She is also certified in the SOS Approach to Feeding and has Handwriting without Tears® training.

Rachel O’Reilly Tovar, MOT, OTR/L Occupational Therapist
Rachel O’Reilly Tovar is a registered and licensed Occupational Therapist with the Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners and obtained certification through the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy. Rachel is also a licensed DIRFloortime® practitioner. She received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Quantitative Social Sciences from the University of Houston and a Master’s of Occupational Therapy from Texas Woman’s University in Houston. She is also certified in the SOS Approach to Feeding.

Adult Education: Linking Language and Learning
2025-06-19 09:15 - 10:15 | The Schissler Library at The Parish School, 11001 Hammerly Blvd, Houston, TX, 77043, United States
Join us for this presentation in The Schissler Library at The Parish School from 9:15-10:15 a.m. on Thursday, June 19.
Learn the relationship between oral and written communication skills. This talk will go over basic definitions of speech and language, then discuss how deficits in oral language may have later impact on reading, writing and learning.
Due to limited seating, please RSVP at the link below.

Allison Kaiser, M.Ed., CHES, Community Engagement Coordinator
Allison is the Community Engagement Coordinator at The Parish School. She earned a BS in Education from the University of Texas at Austin in 2017 and returned there to earn her M.Ed. in Health Behavior and Health Education in 2022. She has worked at The Parish School for four years, first in the classroom, then in admissions and now in outreach.

Adult Education: Developing Social Competencies and Resilience
2025-06-26 09:15 - 10:15 | The Schissler Library at The Parish School, 11001 Hammerly Blvd, Houston, TX, 77043, United States
Join us for this presentation in The Schissler Library at The Parish School from 9:15-10:15 a.m. on Thursday, June 26.
Learn how you can help your student find better success in social situations and how to support your child in becoming more resilient throughout their life.
Children with communication delays and learning differences often struggle socially. They may miss other people’s non-verbal cues, misread other’s intentions, or fail to think about their communication partner’s perspective. Developing social competence takes direct teaching and practice. Resilience and social competence have been identified as the two critical abilities a child needs to be successful as an adult. However, many of our children lack resilience due to their communication delays and learning differences. As a result, they struggle to persist during difficult tasks, maintain positive self-esteem and problem solve as they interact with others, learn new ideas and show their academic knowledge.
Due to limited seating, please RSVP at the link below.

Stephanie Landis, MS, CCC-SLP, Lead Elementary Speech-Language Pathologist
Stephanie is the lead elementary speech-language pathologist at The Parish School and co-host of Unbabbled. She earned a BA in Psychology from Butler University in Indianapolis in 2004 and a MS in Speech-Language and Hearing Sciences from Purdue University in 2008. She is also a member of the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (TSHA) and the Houston Association of Communication Disorders (HACD).

Texas Education Savings Accounts (ESA): What Parish School Families Need to Know
2025-09-26 11:00 - 12:00 | The Parish School, 11001 Hammerly Blvd, Houston, TX, 77043, United States
Texas Education Savings Accounts (ESA): What Parish School Families Need to Know
Beginning in the 2026–2027 school year, Texas families will have access to a new option for funding private and specialized education through the Texas Education Savings Accounts (ESA) program. While our Board of Trustees has not yet made a final decision on whether The Parish School will participate in the ESA program, we understand that many of you have questions about school vouchers, how the ESA program works and how it might affect your family’s educational planning.
Join Anne Powers, Head of School at The Parish School, for an informative Q&A session. This session is open to all Parish parents. If you plan to attend virtually, please register here. If you will be attending in person, RSVP below.

Parish Parent Education Program 2025
2025-09-26 12:00 - 15:30 | The Parish School, 11001 Hammerly Blvd, Houston, TX, 77043, United States
As part of our ongoing commitment to fulfilling our mission of educating and supporting the parents of our Parish students, we are excited to once again host Parish Parent Education Program (PPEP). This program aims to enhance the accessibility of our adult education sessions by consolidating multiple presentations into a single afternoon on Friday, September 26, accompanied by childcare services for Parish students. Attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy a lunch followed by two dynamic hour-plus adult education sessions. Each attendee will be able to customize their learning experience by choosing two of the four presentations offered. Below, you will find the additional details, including the topics and speakers of the sessions and a link to register.
Additional Details
This event will be in-person only. Please check-in at the front desk when you arrive
Lunch: noon-12:30 p.m., provided by The Parish School.
Deadline to RSVP to ensure childcare and lunch for this event is Monday, September 22. If you don’t require either, you can register up until the event.

Email advancement@parishschool.org to let us know if you have any dietary restrictions or require child care. Students enrolled in either Zenith Learning or Adventure Play will not need to register for child care, however those enrolled in Soccer Shots or have an appointment at The Carruth Center will need to register.

Session One

12:30 -1:45 p.m.

Managing Big Feelings at Home
Presented by: Lily Yoder, MA, LPC, RPT
Parenting would be so much easier if each child came with a personalized manual about how to best parent them and what to do when this happens or that happens. Unfortunately, that is not the case and every child is unique and special, which can make figuring out which parenting technique is the best approach near impossible at times. Or parents are asked to teach their child skills to manage feelings that they struggle to use themselves. Learn more about how Conscious Discipline’s adult-first mindset approach can help turn resistance into cooperation, help manage the children’s fits at home, help children learn from their mistakes and become the parent you want to be.

Writing: Why is it so hard?!?
Presented by: Stephanie Landis, MS, CCC-SLP, and Laura Causey, MAT, CALP
Writing sounds like a simple task but for many children it can be extremely difficult. This talk aims to uncover why writing is so complex. Parents will learn the many motor and cognitive skills that support a child’s ability to write, understand typical writing development, and walk away with ways they can support a child who is struggling with writing.

Session Two

2 – 3:15 p.m.
Underlying Skills for Academic Success: Executive Functioning and Social CompetenciesPresented by: Audrey VonBorstel, MS, CCC-SLPLearn the relationship between executive functioning and social competencies and academic success. This presentation will go over basic definitions of executive functioning and social competencies, then discuss how these skills have a direct impact on reading, writing, math and learning in a group.
Experiencing a Language and Learning DifferenceFacilitated by: Mimi Branham, MA, CCC-SLP, and Allison Kaiser, M.Ed.Through this series of hands-on simulations, parents will gain a better understanding of how their child’s language or learning difference impacts their daily classroom experience.

Adult Education: Understanding Your Child's Standardized Test Scores-A closer look at MAP and Language Assessments
2025-10-02 08:30 - 09:30 | The Parish School, 11001 Hammerly Blvd, Houston, TX, 77043, United States
Looking at MAP testing scores can be confusing. Hayley Boasman, Laura Causey and Audrey VonBorstel explain what the scores mean and how to read your report. They will answer any questions you may have and describe how test results are used at The Parish School.

Presented by:
Hayley Boasman, M.Ed., CALP,Head of Elementary
Laura Causey, MAT, CALP,Curriculum Specialist
Audrey VonBorstel, MS, CCC-SLP,Elementary Speech-Language Pathologist

Parent Education - Childhood Apraxia of Speech: Top 10 Tips to Empower Parents with Nancy Kaufman | January 14, 2026
2026-01-14 18:00 - 19:00 | Virtual
Childhood Apraxia of Speech: Top 10 Tips to Empower Parents
Presented Virtually by Nancy Kaufman, MA, CCC-SLP
Please RSVP at the link below.
Parents of children who have apraxia of speech or other significant articulation disorders are invited to hear from apraxia expert, Nancy Kaufman, as she presents practical strategies and techniques to increase speech and language skills in children who struggle to effectively communicate with others. Nancy is the owner and director of the Kaufman Children’s Center in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan which provides therapy and ABA services to children.
Since 1979, Nancy has dedicated herself to establishing the Kaufman-Speech to Language Protocol (K-SLP), a highly regarded treatment approach to help children with significant articulation delays or childhood apraxia of speech become effective communicators. Nancy speaks internationally on the topic of childhood apraxia speech and is recognized as a leading expert in the diagnosis and treatment of this disorder. In addition to the K-SLP Nancy has also developed an assessment for childhood apraxia of speech and many innovative therapeutic materials. She has advised thousands of families and mentored numerous SLPs regarding her therapeutic framework. Nancy has been a consultant with The Parish School and The Carruth Center since 2011.

Click to register

Summer Camp 101
2026-01-15 09:00 - 10:00 | The Schissler Library at The Parish School, 11001 Hammerly Blvd, Houston, TX, 77043, United States
Summer Camp 101
Presented by: Maureen Giglio, Camp Acorn Manager and Mimi Branham, Director of The Carruth Center
The Parish School offers a fabulous summer program, Camp Acorn, that runs the month of June. Our summer language program offers classroom-based language therapy for children ages 2-12 who have communication delays and learning differences. Additionally, we offer Adventure Play at Camp Acorn, a unique opportunity for children with or without special learning needs to engage in self-directed, outdoor play and construct their own playground. With sibling day camp, and early morning and afternoon enrichment options as well, we have you covered!
The Carruth Center offers several camp options for children ages 3 and up. Our Social Learning program expands in the summer to include Summer Social Club in June and our popular sleep-away camp, Camp SOCIAL, in July. We offer two intensive camps: Camp Super Writers that works on hand writing skills and Kaufman-Apraxia Boot camp that is our evidenced based program for children with apraxia or severe articulation disorders. Our new program, Brain Boss will give children the tools needed to develop an inner monologue of all the factors that impact planning and the passage of time. More information about each program will be covered at Camp 101 and can be found on our website.

Camp Acorn: Held during the month of June. This summer language program offers classroom-based language therapy for children ages 2-12 who have communication delays and learning differences. Additionally, we offer Adventure Play at Camp Acorn, a unique opportunity for children with or without special learning needs to engage in self-directed, outdoor play and construct their own playground. With sibling day camp, and early morning and afternoon enrichment options as well, we have you covered! For more information on Camp Acorn, email camp@parishschool.org.
Kaufman-Apraxia Boot Camp: A speech-language group therapy program designed to increase speech formulation, automaticity, language content and structure for children who have apraxia of speech or a severe phonological processing disorder.
Camp Super Writers: A two-week camp utilizing the Handwriting Without Tears® method, which helps develop handwriting skills through multi-sensory, play-based instruction.
Camp SOCIAL is a six-day, overnight camp at Camp for All in Burton, TX, where children and teens ages 8-16 who struggle with social competencies learn and practice Social Thinking® in a supportive environment. All campers attend a daily social group that focuses on social learning concepts necessary for everyday life
Summer Social Club: Your child will have the opportunity to practice their social competency skills, such as flexible thinking and perspective taking, while working with our SLPs who have been trained in Social Thinking® during gaming, cooking or building activities.
Brain Boss: Our newest camp! Sometimes checklists and reminders are not enough! In this group targeting executive functioning, children learn how to better understand time management skills while working together on chosen group projects.

If you cannot attend Summer Camp 101 in person, you can join virtually by clicking here: (LINK)

Adult Education: Elementary Program Preview
2026-01-28 09:15 - 10:15 | The Parish School, 11001 Hammerly Blvd, Houston, TX, 77043, United States
Adult Education: Elementary Preview for Pre-Primary Parents
If you currently have a child in our early childhood program who is moving into our elementary program next year, or if you are just curious to learn about our elementary program in general, then this session is for you. We’ll discuss our curriculum, what a full day’s schedule looks like, classroom expectations and much more…Please come with your questions.
Presented by:
Hayley Boasman, Director of Elementary

Adult Education: Real Talk About Dyslexia: What Parents Need to Know
2026-02-17 08:15 - 09:15 | The Parish School, 11001 Hammerly Blvd, Houston, TX, 77043, United States
Join Parish staff member Tenesha Smith to learn more about dyslexia and how to support your student. Tenesha has a wealth of classroom experience in teaching and working with children with special needs and learning differences. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston and a master’s degree in education from Houston Christian University. Tenesha is a Licensed Dyslexia Therapist and a Certified Academic Language Therapist. She is also a former SLP-A and has extensive experience working with students with communication differences.

Presented by:
Tenesha Smith, M.Ed.,LDT, CALT

Camp For All Coffee Chat, Lower & Upper Elementary | February 26, 2026
2026-02-26 08:30 - 09:30 | The Parish School, 11001 Hammerly Blvd, Houston, TX, 77043, United States
Lower & Upper Elementary parents, join Hayley Boasman and Laura Causey to learn more about the upcoming field trip to Camp For All.

Life After Parish 2026
2026-03-26 19:00 - 20:00 | Virtual
Where Are They Now? Life After Parish
Have you ever wondered what comes next for students after they leave The Parish School?
Whether you’re new to Parish this year or preparing to transition out this spring, we invite you to join us for a special virtual event: “Life After Parish.”
Hear directly from a panel of Parish alumni and their parents as they share their personal journeys, successes, challenges, and the paths they’ve taken beyond Parish. It’s a wonderful opportunity to gain insight, ask questions and feel inspired about what lies ahead.
The alumni panel will consist of:
• Aiden Fordham
• John Zoerb
• Alonzo Limas
• Allie Lange
✨ Come connect, learn and envision the possibilities.
This event will be held virtually. Please register using the link below—we look forward to seeing you there!

Register Here

Aiden Fordham

Aiden Fordham started at Parish in January 2019, halfway through his 1st grade year. He had struggled with speech; his feelings would sometimes take over a room; he hated (with a capital ‘H’) to write; and he was a helper who loved deeply with unbridled joy. Parish gave Aiden access to his voice; tools to be him and skills to help him manage those big emotions in the unexpected moments; taught him that he could read, write, learn and communicate his ideas; and taught him how to identify what he needed and advocate for his needs. After a brief stint at The Briarwood School, Aiden is thriving in the 8th grade at Gateway Academy. This past weekend, he won the 100–meter and 400-meter events in a track meet!

John Zoerb

John Zoerb is currently a sophomore at The Briarwood School, but wishes he was still a Parish School student. His favorite memories from his time at Parish are recess and “wiggle time.” In his free time, John enjoys playing video games with friends, being an acolyte at church and volunteering at Parish’s Adventure Play.

Alonzo Limas

Alonzo Limas’ journey to Parish began through The Carruth Center at 3 years old. He spent one year at Carruth before enrolling at The Parish School, where he was provided the support he needed to become the successful young man he is today. Parish taught him patience, flexibility along with the ability to communicate and self advocate. His favorite memories of Parish include meeting lifelong friends and Adventure Play. He transitioned out of Parish at 12 years old to attend Memorial Middle School then Stratford High School, where he graduated in 2025. He is currently a freshman at the University of St. Thomas, aspiring to work as an aircraft marshaller in the future.

Allie Lange

Allie Lange is a Houston native and Parish alumna. After graduating from Parish in 2008, she attended Briarwood for the elementary program and stayed throughout high school, before earning her degree of Early Childhood Education from Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. Following college, she returned home to Houston to begin her career in education, eventually coming full circle by starting her professional journey at The Parish School. She is now working at The Mays School as a lead teacher and is passionate about supporting students and fostering meaningful learning experiences in early childhood and beyond.
