MILLENNIUM MOMENT

Marion Parsons came to Costa Mesa in the early 1940s, when the area only

had two schools. She became a teacher and focused on special education

when the district’s program for the Educable Mentally Retarded started in

1957.

Parsons, whose own sister was handicapped, was intensely interested in

the unique demands of special education. In addition to her work with the

school district, she was active in the Orange County Council of

Exceptional Children, the Orange County Child Guidance Assn., the Orange

County Psychologists Assn., and many other groups.

* MILLENNIUM MOMENT celebrates the people who have made a major

contribution to the Newport-Mesa community during this century.