news Sept. 29-Oct. 5, 2021
Mandy Allen named Haywood Teacher of the Year B
ethel Elementary School fifth grade teacher Mandy Allen was named Haywood County Schools’ 2022 Teacher of the Year at a banquet earlier this month. Every year, each of the district’s 15 schools selects a Teacher of the Year. A selection committee is then tasked with choosing the district-wide Teacher of the Year after reviewing applications and visiting each teacher’s classroom. Allen, who has worked in education for 13 years, was selected as the district-wide winner, and runner ups were Norma Warren from Canton Middle School and Heidi Morgan of Pisgah High School. “Mrs. Allen’s teaching philosophy and skills are evident and have a positive impact on her students, school, and the community,” Dr. Bill Nolte, Haywood County Schools superintendent, said. “She is a great representation of the high caliber of teachers in Haywood County Schools and would represent the state very well as the Regional and State Teacher of the Year.” Allen’s initial desire to work in education came from her own teachers when she was a student at Hazelwood Elementary School. She said teachers like Lee Messer, Sherri Arrington, and Retha Cabe influenced her early on in her education. “They always encouraged me to give my best at school, but I also saw the best in them,” Allen said with a smile. “I wanted to be like them.” Allen laughed as she talked about playing school with her toys and her younger sister in the afternoons as a child. She even asked for an overhead projector for Christmas when she was in 2nd grade and was devastated when Santa did not leave one under the tree.
During her final year of college at Western Carolina University, she completed her student internship with Alma Wells at Bethel Elementary, just two doors down from her current classroom. Her first job after college graduation was at Bethel Elementary teaching fourth grade. During that time, she met her husband, Brandon. Allen joined her husband in Morganton, N.C. and commuted to Haywood County three days a week while working as a curriculum coach. The commute became too much, and Allen accepted a teaching position in Burke County. Opportunities arose for Allen’s family, and they moved back to Haywood County in 2017. By that time, Allen and her husband had two young children. She began working part time with the school system as an instructional coach, where she helped teachers apply theory and pedagogy in the classroom. “After a while, I really began to miss the kids and wanted to be back in the classroom,” Allen said. “I missed creating relationships with students and being a more interactive part of their education.” In 2019, Allen returned to Bethel Elementary as a fifth-grade teacher. At Bethel Elementary, Allen is surrounded by supportive co-workers, who Allen credits with pushing her professionally. Allen and her fellow fifth-grade teachers work together during planning periods and after school to create lesson plans, pinpoint common goals, and share the days’ successes and shortcomings. Sharing ideas and working cooperatively is a necessity among teachers, since fifth grade curriculum covers everything from ecosystems to North American colonization to geometry.
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“Mandy was born to be a teacher, and I cannot imagine her being anything else,” Bethel Elementary Principal Heather Hollingsworth said. “The love for her students and the passion she puts forth in making sure they grow as learners and as human beings is unrivaled.” For nine months, Allen gets to know her students. She finds out their strengths, weaknesses, hobbies and interests while building relationships that last for years to come.
“I think Mrs. Allen is a good teacher because she’s really nice,” fifth-grader Riley Holland said. “She makes everything fair, and we all get a chance to talk.” Allen takes an interest in her students out of the classroom as well. She can often be found on the weekends watching soccer games, attending dance recitals or going to the rodeo to show her support for her students. She believes these small gestures of showing care and interest in her students’ lives result in better rela-
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Mandy Allen talks with her fifth graders, Charlie Rogers (left) and Riley Holland (right), about using order of operations during a math word problem involving a student making pecan and peanut butter pies. Allen has worked in education since 2008.
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