BlakeAllen

Principal
at Stephen F. Austin Middle School,
Bryan, Texas

First and foremost, Mr. Allen is an artist/teacher. What's funny is he has always been both. Even as a young child he drew and created simple artwork more than other children. In High School, he wrote and drew five 60+ page comic books. He was interested in telling stories and creating vivid images. He blended that emphasis with his budding use of technology in the public schools. Mr. Allen began to prepare himself for a possible career in computer graphics and video gaming. He graduated from Waco High School and entered Baylor University. His computer programming dream came to an end when he worked with the “big boys” in computer science. There were a couple of programming languages that he just didn't get along with so he returned to his first love of art and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Baylor. From there, he went through Baylor's post-baccalaureate teacher certification program and began his career as an art teacher at Lake Air Middle School, Waco . Mr. Allen likes to refer to himself as an artist/teacher because he is not just an artist and not just a teacher. Both sides are aspects that help make up who he is and he doesn't like to be pigeon-holed. A few years later, after much persuasion from mentors, Mr. Allan entered the Baylor University mid-management Master's Cohort and emerged with his Principal certification. He served as Assistant Principal at a 3A rural district (Groesbeck ISD) and in a 5A district, Bryan ISD at Stephen F. Austin Middle School. A year after arriving in Bryan ISD, He became Principal of SFA.
Texas A&M was what brought me to Bryan. Once I was accepted to the Doctoral program, I immediately began searching for employment near the University. The idea of an hour and a half commute, one-way was not appealing. He admires all those that do that on a regular basis to earn their degrees. He truly believes that students need that positive touch in order to be impacted. Mr. Allen is an advocate for kids, helping them succeed. He also believes that we have a greater responsibility to our children than just teaching math and reading. Mr. Allen believes that we are charged with building productive citizens in this “American Experiment” (Postman) and that should be the thread that binds together all that we do. Mr. Allen had this to say:
“One of the most exciting ways in which we are building productive citizens at SFA is through the Technology Immersion Pilot (TIP) grant. The TIP project, called 1Vision in Bryan, is the most advanced technology integration initiative that Texas has seen. Each of our 930 of our students have been issued laptop computers through which much of our curriculum is delivered. This project is not about teaching our students to use technology, rather this is an effort to change instruction from the direct, single-modality model we've used for over 200 years to a multi-media, multi-modal approach that meets students where they are in today's society. The response has been incredible. Teachers report students are more engaged and there are fewer discipline problems. I have researched our databases and found evidence that supports that. Our attendance is up 2% since we rolled out computers compared to last year and our classroom disruptions are down 20% from last year. Those two non-empirical statistics are very encouraging to me. It's also on student faces. They are quick to tell anyone that they are proud to have their computers and are very responsible with their use and care. We have also seen a preliminary indication that student scores may improve on standardized testing, but it may be a little early to make projections.
While the technology itself has been very powerful because our vendor package included a great deal of online resources, I have rapidly discovered that the ultimate power is not in the technology but the professional development that supports it. Our teachers have been through extensive workshop training regarding the use of applications, software and hardware. Now, we've transitioned to a much more collaborative model of professional development that teaches the teachers how to integrate technology into the district curriculum effectively. This phase is going to be the key to success with technology integration, not only in Bryan but also across the state.”