Amit Parkash

“For decades, one family built a school and nurtured a community. When they were ready to step away, another AIA family stepped forward to help preserve the place that community called home.”

Amit Parkash came to AIA the way most families do: as a parent. His family joined the school in 2016, and both of his children are students here today. Watching them grow curious, independent, and sure of themselves shaped his belief that a school should do more than prepare children for tests. What he came to value most about AIA was its close-knit community, where children are known, understood, and cared for by the people who teach them.

In 2021, AIA reached a pivotal moment. Founder Dixie Oliver and her family, who had built the school over four decades, were preparing for their next chapter, and the future of the campus was uncertain. Amit and his family acquired the campus property, helping ensure AIA could remain in its longtime home. The Montessori community the Olivers had created could keep learning and growing in the place it knew.

Amit has spent his career in business ownership, acquisitions, and real estate development. In Alpharetta, he transformed a vacant bank into a Starbucks and a boarded-up Arby’s into a Chipotle. Elsewhere in Georgia, he repurposed a long-vacant building into a center supporting children with autism and their families. Projects like these require more than vision. They demand sound financial judgment, careful planning, the ability to anticipate challenges, and the persistence to bring people together and see things through. Amit brings that same approach to his work on AIA’s Board.

He has served as President of AIA’s Board of Directors since 2023. He views the role as a responsibility to every family who trusts AIA with their children. His priorities are clear: protect the school’s Montessori mission, maintain a strong financial foundation, and plan thoughtfully for its future. He believes the Head of School and educators are at the heart of what makes AIA special, and that the Board’s role is to support their success while providing responsible oversight.

Beyond the boardroom, Amit is just as happy behind the soundboard at school events, helping with music and whatever else is needed. He also volunteers his time and skills alongside the Head of School and staff to modernize AIA’s website, improve communications, and simplify everyday systems for families. For Amit, contributing to the school community is simply part of being an AIA parent.

Amit lives in Milton with his wife, their two children, and their Labradoodle. On weekends, he works an unofficial second job as his children’s Uber driver, shuttling them between soccer matches and cheering from the sidelines.

AIA has played an important role in shaping his own children. He serves so that families arriving next year, and generations after his children have graduated, find the same sense of belonging and an even stronger school.