LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Jody Allison was nominated by her principal, Nicky Andrews.

"Jody is amazing!" 

"Jody has so many strategies that are so useful. Her Kung Fu is very strong!”

"Jody encourages me." 

"I appreciate her perspective. She equips us to be a better version of ourselves." 

These are a few descriptions of Ms. Allison. She possesses many traits that make her an outstanding employee and a LifeChanger. She is truly an exceptional and loyal employee who not only strives to strengthen and improve her skill set, but to leave her school community a better and more joyous place to learn and work. Ms. Allison is positive, enthusiastic, and committed; a tireless worker; a team player; and above all, dedicated to serving the teachers, students, and staff at Greenville Middle Academy.

Ms. Allison demonstrates a keen knowledge of the teaching and learning process. She is a natural teacher, an enthusiastic learner, and a supportive leader. As the instructional coach, she shares her knowledge of teaching practices and engages with teachers to help them engage, challenge, and support all students in their classrooms. For example, Ms. Allison has adeptly initiated coaching cycles with teachers at her school. In doing so, her fellow teachers have not only reflected on data, but have also discussed ways to better address student needs. This monumental task can only be done by establishing trusted relationships with teachers throughout the school. Conversations have led to more robust instructional practices in the classroom that directly relate to engaging students with content in innovative ways. Students are growing and making strides academically. In fact, for the 2022 school year, Greenville Middle Academy has been rated Excellent on the South Carolina School Report Card.  

Additionally, Ms. Allison has volunteered to serve as a mentor to new instructional coaches in her school district. She allows others to observe her as she engages in coaching cycles with other teachers. During these cycles, participants observe firsthand Ms. Allison's genuine rapport and collaboration with reviewing benchmark data and planning for next steps. The participants all commented on how skillful Ms. Allison is with her questioning and support of teachers.  

These relationships are further captured in the comments shared about Jody by staff:

"Jody Allison is an amazing instructional coach, mentor, and friend. She wears many hats. Jody is the schedule guru for everything related to state testing. She is the fill-in teacher for all subjects when there is a last-minute absence. Jody is the constant encouragement in the hallway for administration, students, and teachers. She is IT support for teachers when we have no idea how to work technology. Jody is the patient support in meetings when teachers ask silly questions. She constantly worries about others before herself. Jody is worthy of all acknowledgments because she acknowledges others before herself. That is why she is the best of the best."

-Katie West, ELA Teacher, English/Language Arts Department Chair, 2022 Emerging Teacher of the Year

"Jody Allison is a world-class, phenomenal instructional coach because, at her core, she is a fantastic teacher. She nurtures relationships with staff and students, and while this makes her a great IC, she does it because she genuinely cares about everyone in our building. Jody can single-handedly turn a bad around because of her enthusiastic, sunny disposition. She is knowledgeable about data and pedagogy, and she stays current with best practices. Our school is a better, brighter place because of Jody Allison!"

-Dr. Anna Hasenkamp, ELA Teacher, Team Leader

"Jody Allison is a breath of fresh air. Her enthusiasm for learning and sharing her knowledge is contagious. Jody brings a unique talent to curriculum design with her enthusiasm, positive energy, and attentiveness to the teachers' needs. She takes the time to create relevant, fun, and engaging professional development for each grade level and content area. She is always available to assist with anything from developing a grading rubric to discussing Gamecock football. But Jody is not just focused on instruction and curriculum development. She cares about the overall well-being of the teachers. Jody takes the time to get to know us and what we need to be successful in the classroom and life. There is so much I could say about Jody, but the main thing is she's the foundation of our school. Without her, we would be on shaky ground."

-Teka Bowens, Related Arts Department Chair

"Jody Allison is a wonderful human being; some might say she's a superhero. She exemplifies kindness and a willingness to go above and beyond. Jody's the educator I hope to become someday. Jody challenges me to think outside of the box, and she pushes me to become better every single day. Jody motivates and inspires through her actions and is one of the hardest-working people I have ever met. Simply put, she sets the standard. Our school and community are blessed to have someone who cares deeply and passionately about her craft."

-Ben Sinnett, Science Teacher, Team Leader, MAEd, NBCT, and PAEMST

Ms. Allison continually demonstrates through her actions and words that she is a collaborator, supporter, teacher's teacher, and coach. She truly cares about the teachers, students, and staff at GMA and is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure teachers and staff feel heard, supported, and encouraged to do their best.

"Her support has been invaluable to me as we challenge our staff to support a culture of learning, one focused on improving our practice so we directly impact student learning," said Andrews. "Our school community is better because of Jody Allison's passion, commitment, support, and guidance."

Ms. Allison has been instrumental in creating and orchestrating Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) at her school. She has structured weekly meetings to support teachers with professional learning. Her meetings include learning from others in the building, looking at data from Mastery Connect, developing next steps in response to data through Goal Check-ins, and assisting with planning sessions that provide peers time to plan intentionally. Her meetings ensure standards are addressed and students have opportunities to engage with learning in various ways. 

Her creativity shines through in planning engaging professional development, such as the Tech Tools Rams Run 5K. As part of this session, she worked with the Discovery Education consultant to provide teachers with various opportunities to engage with tools such as Plickers, Flipgrid, Google Keep, and Flippity so that teachers could immediately implement them in their classrooms with their students. Teachers could see this implementation immediately from teachers who attended PD that day. After participating in the 5K, the teachers received a 5K medal.

"Jody's positive attitude and enthusiasm for learning have contributed to our school community in so many positive ways. We are incredibly fortunate to have Jody Allison as our instructional coach at Greenville Middle Academy. It is my honor to nominate Jody Allison for the LifeChanger of the Year award," said Andrews.