Lisa Allen was named by her peers as 2017-2018 Teacher of the Year at Black’s Mill Elementary.

She is an Interrelated Resource (IRR) Teacher, working with children with learning disabilities and special education needs to help them thrive in school.

Allen has been teaching for 16 years and has spent time teaching at all levels of grade school. She spent three years teaching at the middle school level, seven teaching in high schools and six years in elementary education.

This is currently Allen’s third year teaching in Dawson County.

Allen says she was inspired by her mother to pursue her teaching career.

“My mom was a paraprofessional in my elementary school,” said Allen.

Every afternoon she would go to her mother’s classroom and watch her help other students learn the material.

Another big inspiration for Allen hit her when she got older and pursued higher education.

“Once I got to college it was just really having a love for kids,” said Allen. “Especially those that have different learning needs to where I could kind of help bridge that gap between those and the ones in the general class.”