After 25 years of teaching in the State College Area School District, Delta High English teacher Amy Allison is retiring.
When Allison first moved to the district, she had no idea what her career would be.
“I thought maybe teaching would be something I was interested in because I’d done it at the college level for a bit, but I wasn’t quite sure, so when we moved to State College, I visited some schools as a substitute teacher,” Allison said.
However, getting a job at State High wasn’t easy, and when she finally did, in a twist of fate, she ended up at Delta, where she would have an experience that would change the trajectory of her career.
“I thought to myself, if I had had a school like this when I was in high school, it would have changed who I was,” Allison said.
Delta High senior Justin Wallace reflected the incredible impact Allison had on him and his future.
“[My favorite class with her was] Advanced Topics English because that was when I really started to like reading and talking about literature. I think it was partly being in Amy’s classes and also partly me getting older. Amy really helped to facilitate my passion and enjoyment of literature,” Wallace said.
Wallace, who will be attending the University of Pittsburgh, is thinking about triple majoring in education, English and history, due to the influence of Allison’s teaching style.
“In fact, the whole reason I even want to potentially become an English teacher to begin with is because of the fact that I don’t think I would have learned to like English if I didn’t have good English teachers like we do here at Delta,” Wallace said.
Wallace is currently the teacher assistant for Allison’s epics class, a class focused on teaching ancient poems depicting heroes of cultural significance. During this time, he gained insight into what it is to be a teacher at a school such as Delta, where it’s crucial to keep the balance between experimental and traditional.
“[Allison] knows how to take into consideration both what is valuable for students…but also how to keep them engaged and do it in an interesting way,” Wallace said.
Allison, who is known for her unique teaching style, is especially notable for her Lord of the Flies unit. In Lord of the Flies there is a giant conch shell used to establish order. During group projects, Allison would step outside the classroom and blow the conch shell to alert groups to return.
Allison impacted the lives of teachers as well, like Delta High social studies teacher Lynda Hauman.
“My very first year teaching, I was probably overwhelmed and stressed…Amy said something like: ‘Don’t worry, you’re gonna forget all this year anyways.’ And I did forget most of that year, but I didn’t forget that’s what she said,” Hauman said.
If one met Allison, their first impression might be that she’s very no-nonsense and strict. But at the same time, Allison loves metaphors, euphemisms and grammar jokes.
“I know that it’s easier to access information if it’s delivered in a variety of methods and if you use metaphors, people can tap into a story in a unique way.”
As she moves on from SCASD, Allison reflected on her legacy: “I would like to be remembered for a lot of things: one is growing true readers; people who love to read and know how to read well, I would also like to be remembered for starting the Book Nook…for introducing international travel to so many students, for having a safe and welcoming environment in the classroom [and] for exploring different ways to evaluate students and their learning. But I suspect I will be mostly remembered for my colon jokes.”
