LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Kalla Bollish's nominator would like to remain anonymous.

Mrs. Bollish has been an educator for 11 years. Her love and passion for education and reading still continues to shine through.  As a mother, her commitment for education is remarkable. She's juggling marriage, a child with great health needs, and her full time job, but she always gives a 100%. 

Working at a Title 1 school, Mrs. Bollish collaborates with her teachers and her parents. In many classrooms from kindergarten through fifth grade, she models the different strategies that can help students succeed. She provides professional development to her teachers based on her campus' needs, and she never hesitates to jump in and help a teacher in the classroom.  She sits and communicates frequently with her parents, which makes them feel really comfortable coming to Mrs. Bollish to ask questions, seek advice, or even get ideas and discuss books to get for their children.

Mrs. Bollish has started book clubs with students, a newspaper group to inspire writing among her fourth graders, and is currently the academic team leader of her campus. 

Prior to being a reading specialist, she taught pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, first grade and fourth grade.  This is why she has a deep knowledge of the different grade levels and can create cross-curriculum content with her other academic specialists to provide and encourage a well-rounded learning experience for the classrooms.

"Reading is so important for a child, and our reading program has definitely gotten stronger due to Mrs. Bollish’s vision," said her nominator. "She has helped many parents with children who have struggling readers, and they're becoming more confident as a result. She is so deserving of this award."