Amber Allen – Herriman Elementary

I could go on for days and days about Mrs. Allen, she is Amazing!!! She not only teaches, she loves and pushes her kids/students in a positive, calm, and engaging fun environment. I have been blessed that two of my kids were lucky enough to be in her classroom, and I also worked close with her in her classroom as the learning links parent. I saw first-hand, the patience, love, and dedication she has. You can tell that teaching young children isn’t just a job, it is a passion of hers. All of her students love and adore her, it is so fun watching her students walk into the classroom excited to be there and excited to see her. They are excited to tell her about whatever is going on in their life, and she is equally excited to see them to eagerly and patiently listen, because she genuinely loves them. Mrs. Allen is small in stature, so she blends right in with the kids, when they greet her with hugs they nearly knock her to the ground.

Both of my kids have ADHD, anxiety and my son has a significant learning disability, so school is hard for them. When Mrs. Allen was their teacher my kids not only excelled in their learning, but they loved going to school. She loved them and encouraged them in a way I haven’t seen before and they flourished. My younger child has a learning disability and spends most of his day in the resource room, he has always struggled with knowing what classroom he is supposed to be in and when to be there. Mrs. Allen went above and beyond by making him an easy schedule showing him where he should be. One of the first days Mrs. Allen wasn’t at school the substitute didn’t send my son to resource and the resource teacher didn’t come to get him, therefor he came home extremely upset, flustered, and over stimulated. After that day Mrs. Allen sent me a personal email every time she wasn’t going to be in the classroom, so I could mentally prepare my son for a substitute. She is the only teacher that has kept in close contact with me about my kids and their progress good and bad. She embraces their challenges, and pushes them in such a fun and loving way that they didn’t really even realize they were doing things outside of their comfort zone.

Being a mother of a special needs child naturally gives me many worries and anxiety. Mrs. Allen was very patient with me as well, she helped me see my son in a new light. She focused a great deal on what he could do, instead of how behind he is. I know I probably drove her crazy with my emails, but she always answered them and calmed my nerves.
She changed my kids! She showed them that they can do hard things. She made them both love school again. She showed them that learning is easy and fun. She loves them so much that she checks up on them during school breaks, weekends, and even in the summer time. She loves her students and it shows. I compare all teachers to her, we’ve had some great teachers, but she is by far the best. I greatly admire her, she was and is such a blessing to me and my family.
-Kati Hicks