Lakeland's Parson is Idaho's Tech Director of the Year

RATHDRUM — Ever since he was a kid, Lakeland Joint School District Instructional Technology Director Chad Parson has had a technologically inquisitive mind.

“Technology is obviously a little misunderstood," Parson said Tuesday. "People don’t even think about technology until things go wrong."

He and his team are ready to fix whatever needs fixing throughout the district. Each new day brings with it new problems, errors and troubleshooting opportunities.

"That’s one of the big things that appeals to me," Parson said. "It can be challenging, but in a good way. You’re always needing to keep up with technology trends. There's no single day that’s the same as another day. That part excites me; it would scare other people."

Parson's passion for technology and unraveling electronic mysteries has been recognized at the state level. He has been honored as the Idaho Education and Technology Association's Tech Director of the Year.

The Idaho Education and Technology Association is a volunteer board that promotes and facilitates the use of technology in Idaho education. The award was presented Thursday at the Idaho Education and Technology Association's 2025 Ed Tech Conference in Boise. 

"I’m assuming my district had a heads up because they made me go this year," Parson said. “I didn't even know I might have won, but I did have a feeling something was up.

"It was exciting," he said.

Part of his nomination form was read during the presentation, pointing out Parson's multifaceted skillset and excellence as a leader.

"I personally think this award is more of my technology team's award," Parson said. "I know that sounds silly, but any technology director would tell you that you're only going to look as good as your team as a whole. I have a great team that works for me. They make me look good, quite honestly." 

Parson is about to enter his 20th year with Lakeland. He began his career with the district as a technology support specialist in 2005, stepping up as needed when the former tech director retired. Parson was promoted to tech director in July 2016.

The 1999 Kootenai High School graduate said he remembers when his school had one computer in the computer lab and one in the library that was usually booked.

"It was of course dial-up days back then," Parson said. "You couldn't do a lot of stuff, but I certainly enjoyed the one computer that was available to me." 

He really found his calling when he went to North Idaho College and enrolled in the Computer Information and Technology program. He worked in web development for a local company that hired him right out of college. When that company moved out of the area, he saw an ad in the Coeur d'Alene Press for a job at Lakeland.

Parson loves what he does so much, he became a certified instructor a few years back and teaches a couple of computer science courses on top of his director duties.

"I just try to build that passion," Parson said. "You don’t know what you're passion’s going to be until you get in there and give it a shot.

"The other thing about the students is, even if they don’t show a passion in computer science, every job from here on out, no matter what the job is, is going to involve technology. "You have to have those basic skills for the workforce."

Tifani Young, technology integration specialist for Lakeland, said she knew she wanted to nominate Parson as soon as she saw an email about the award. She described him as an all-around hardworking person who deserves all the kudos.

"The technology department isn't very big, so Chad has to wear many hats and take care of issues in a timely manner at all hours; not just what we would think of as school hours," she said. 

She praised his ability to run the department and keep gradebooks working while also teaching two classes.

"While all of this would cause most people anxiety, it doesn't Chad," Young said. "He is always the epitome of grace under pressure. How he finds the time to also lead his sons' Boy Scout troop is beyond me, but there he was all holiday season, selling Christmas trees at the mall. It was an easy decision to nominate Chad, and I am thankful that now everyone gets to see what we in the department see daily."

Parson said he was happy to earn the title of Idaho Technology Director of the Year.

"I consider it an award for the whole district," he said.

    Parson