HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Library Media Specialist Amy Allen advocates for both Allen STEM Magnet School and Wiley Elementary School, creating partnerships with the community and applying for grants to provide materials for projects she creates.
Ad Astra Radio is proud to announce Mrs. Allen as this month’s Classroom Hero Award recipient.
Each month, Ad Astra Radio honors a different educator, selected from community nominations to receive the Classroom Hero Award and a “hero” gift basket, courtesy of community partners Heartland Credit Union, Midway Motors of Hutchinson, Stutzman’s Greenhouse, Hutch Putt and The Foto Cowboy.
Mrs. Allen has been teaching for 32 years. Half of her teaching career has been as a library media specialist and the other half was spent in the classroom, teaching kindergarten, fourth grade and preschool.
Mrs. Allen has been at Allen STEM Magnet for six years. For the last five or six years, she has split her time between Allen STEM Magnet and Wiley Elementary.
“We have six elementaries, but we’re served by four librarians,” Allen said.
Lincoln-McCandless Elementary and Morgan Elementary have a full-time librarian while the other four elementary schools in the district are shared between Mrs. Allen and Carla Honeycutt.
As a library media specialist, Mrs. Allen wears many hats. Not only does she take care of the library, she also teaches literacy, curates print and digital resources, designs collaborative spaces, promotes the ethical use of research, AI, & literacies, and much more.
When asked what her favorite part about teaching is, Mrs. Allen said that she loves doing collaborative projects with classroom teachers and making it easier for them to do all of the cool things that kids want to do to be engaged.
“Just seeing the kids excited,” Allen added, “They find their ‘why’, they find out why they want to do something.”
Mrs. Allen is originally from Kentucky but has been in Hutchinson since 1984. She graduated from Buhler High School then got her Bachelor’s in Elementary Education from Fort Hays State University and earned her Master’s in Educational Technology/School Library Media K-9 from Pittsburg State University.
A community member who nominated Allen for the Classroom Hero Award shared that she is fun, creative and resourceful.
“Mrs. Allen works so hard to collaborate with classroom teachers to provide support materials, create interactive, engaging projects, and technology support,” the nominator said. “She has also created MakerStations for students to rotate through. These stations give students a chance to explore new technology, review library skills, and participate in STEM challenges. She is always willing to help students learn how to cook, sew, and code.”
According to the nominator, Mrs. Allen looks for ways to make things happen for her two schools, even when budgets are tight. She creates partnerships with the Hutchinson Public Library and other organizations in the community.
“I remember learning how to make the morning news broadcast, creating book videos, and building Lego robots with her,” the nominator added. “I’m so lucky to have had her as my Librarian and now my kids get to have her too!”
The Classroom Hero Award seeks to highlight the hard work and dedication of those on the front lines of our local schools. Nominations can be submitted at https://www.adastraradio.com/classroomhero/.
Ad Astra Radio has been locally owned and operated since 1986 and is proud to be your hometown radio station.
