Kathy Allen
/Kathy Allen
Four States Living Tribute To Women
photo by KENDAL DOCKERY PHOTOGRAPHY
As a public school educator, Kathy Allen has served in many various roles, including special education classroom teacher, educational diagnostician, curriculum director, middle school principal, and superintendent of schools. She admits that she isn’t quite ready to “fully retire,” so she currently works as a field service agent for the Region 8 Education Service Center and serves as a liaison between the Service Center and the 46 superintendents within the Region 8 area.
Kathy and Mike love living in the Four States area because of the strong sense of community here. She appreciates that this area has a “growth mindset” that helps keep it moving forward. (Photo by Shana C. Carter Photography)
Growing up, Kathy Allen says that she didn’t really have any grandiose ideas about her life. She imagined she would become a teacher, be happily married, live in a cute white frame house with a white picket fence, and tend to a large flower garden. She envisioned being the mother of four children, owning a dog, and living happily ever after! Quite honestly, her ambitions and aspirations weren’t too far off the mark. She did become an educator, is happily married to her husband, Mike, enjoys tending to her plants, is a mother to two children, Ashley Jones (married to Casey) and Ryan Allen (married to Jessica), has five grandchildren (Jaxon, Cooper, Elerby, Avery, and Abe), has a French Bulldog named Sid, and leads a very happy life!
A graduate of Hooks High School, Kathy attended Texas Woman’s University, Texas A&M University-Texarkana, and Nova Southeastern University. As a gift to herself, Kathy decided to go back to school at age 50 to earn her doctorate degree, while working full-time, going to classes on weekends, and being a wife, mother, and grandmother. A professional accomplishment that Kathy is very proud of is going back to Hooks ISD and becoming the superintendent of schools there. “I went back to where I had developed a strong foundation on which to build my life and my career path, to serve the school district in a leadership role, and to give back to the community I was born and grew up in. My dad, at age 91, was thrilled to have us back home in Hooks.” Sadly, Kathy’s father passed away during her first year back, but she will always cherish his thoughts, unending support, and great joy regarding Kathy coming home.
Kathy is very passionate about education. “I chose education because I’ve always loved school, and my neighborhood was filled with great teachers and administrators that I admired and respected,” she explains. “We are born into this world ready to learn. Making sure every child receives the best education possible is crucial to not only their well-being but also the growth and development of our communities, our cultures, our overall way of life to come. Providing them an excellent education now is giving them the keys to the world.”
Throughout her career in education, Kathy has learned many valuable lessons that she enjoys sharing with others: take time to listen to students, parents and staff; be visible and approachable to those you work with; operate with integrity in all that you do; do the work that is expected with your position; and always be confident in yourself. “If I had to give advice to young women today, I would say to be true to yourself, know what makes you feel happy, satisfied and fulfilled in life and follow that! Don’t let your dreams be extinguished. Keep moving forward and fight for what you want,” Kathy says. “I believe it is important to pray and seek God’s guidance in our life. That’s the way to truly live the life you were meant to live and have the satisfaction in life we all seek. I would add that this doesn’t always happen in ‘our’ timeline but in ‘His’ time.”
In her spare time, Kathy enjoys traveling with Mike and their furry companion, Sid. Some of her favorite destinations are Key West, Florida, Grand Teton National Park, Banff, Canada, Creede, Colorado, and the list goes on and on! “Mike and I traveled many miles across the country on our Harley Davidson. We rode for about 10 years, and I can assure you that there is no better way to experience the beauty of America than on a Harley!” she exclaims. She also enjoys reading for pleasure, attending events with her “church ladies group” at Antioch Christian Church, following her older grandchildren to their school activities, and taking care of her plants.
Kathy’s most crucial advice for women is to take care of themselves. “We continue to try and balance family, home, work and life. We must realize there is so much beyond our control. Learn (practice) to let it go!” she urges. “Know your priorities, don’t give in to trying to do it all – you must take care of yourself, nurture yourself. You are worth it! Be your best you! Do something fun as often as you can. Let your ‘inner girl’ shine. There is so much truth in the motto to ‘Live, Laugh, Love’... hold on to that and laugh as much as you can. It’s very cathartic.”
“As a woman, you must have the adaptability of a chameleon and the persistence of the devil!”
- Bobbie Whitmore Gentry, Kathy’s mother
The way Bertie Norton sees her
As someone who has been blessed to have had an amazing career as a professional educator, I want to continue to recognize others who have demonstrated the same passion for the education of children and who have had similar positive experiences. Kathy Allen certainly is one of those extraordinary individuals. It is my extreme honor to nominate her as an honoree in the Tribute to Women issue of Four States Living Magazine.
Although in different decades, Kathy and I began our careers in education similarly. We both chose to devote our study and focus on educating students with special needs. Little did we know that choice would cause our paths to cross many years later. Kathy was the Special Education Director for Western Bowie County Cooperative when I accepted an educational diagnostician position to work under her direction. This was the beginning of our relationship and would cause me to admire and respect her gifts and abilities as an educator and a leader.
Kathy is a knowledgeable, talented, and dedicated educator who has had a positive influence on the lives of many. She has a friendly, caring personality that opens lines of communication with students, staff, parents, and other colleagues. She has a calming presence in the face of adversity and contagious laughter that brings joy to any situation.
With a wealth of knowledge and experience, Kathy has served in a variety of positions from classroom teacher to superintendent. She is a woman who truly deserves recognition and appreciation for serving our local area well in the most important profession, the education of our children.