EARLHAM, Iowa – A preschool teacher at Earlham Community Schools is making sure her students and their families have a positive start to learning. 

Teaching little learners may seem like a tall task.

Angie Allen has a way of making it look easy.

“There are different things that are needed to reach different kids and I love trying to find that, whatever they need,” Allen said.

A skill this former high school teacher realized she had when she came back to preschool as a parent volunteer.

“It just happened by accident,” Allen recalls. “Just that first time I volunteered, and I think I had enough education under my belt that I thought, hmm I can do this. I know what they need. And I could kind of see what they needed, and it happened by accident and it just kind of gone from there.”

She’s been at Earlham Elementary for the past decade. Her impact in the classroom is often noticed by their parents.

“She just is, I think just a dream for the way that she connects with students,” Sara Nelson, whose three boys all had Mrs. Allen as a teacher, said. 

“She’s just somehow able to personalize those needs for each kiddo, all at the same time,” Sarah Freestone, whose son also had Mrs. Allen, said. “And just make sure every kid has a great experience and grows through all of their potential.”

Like last year, when Mrs. Allen helped one student with speech. 

“One word was pretty tough at times, to he walked out of there speaking sentences, clear words. His numbers, his letters, everything you think of,” parents Nathan and Cassie Mason said. “We have two older children, and it just happened. But he really had to work at it, and he found the perfect partner in Mrs. Allen when we moved here.”

“And we figured out that his superpower is through writing,” Mrs. Allen said. “And when he could write the letter, he could remember the letter, and he could say the letter. And he had so much joy. It’s a sense of pride to find your own superpower, but it filled me up too.”

Finding students’ superpowers means Mrs. Allen can teach preschoolers how to grow.

“Hard work is a lot like magic,” Mrs. Allen said. And if you work hard enough, you can make things happen. And you have to make your own magic if someone doesn’t do it for you.”

A big reason why several parents nominated Mrs. Allen for the Golden Apple.

“I just love preschool and I love school so much and that’s why I come and do what I do,” Mrs. Allen said after receiving the award. “So it’s just super fun.”

A fun foundation for learning. 

“She was a really nice teacher,” Levi Cassidy, a former student, said. “She made teaching really fun.”

From a teacher who cares about her students. 

“She truly does care about those children in that classroom no matter who they are, where they came from, what disabilities they may or may not have,” Nathan Mason said. 

And hopes to make a difference in their lives every day.

“My biggest joy now is that I get to be the first one to see them and help families have that positive first school experience,” Mrs. Allen said. 

This is just the start of the school year fun for Mrs. Allen’s class. After winter break, students will come back to a space unit where “Commander Allen” will dress up in a space suit. After that, she decorates her classroom as an aquarium. Just another way this teacher uses creativity in the classroom to help her students learn and grow.

You can watch the full interview with Mrs. Allen below.