St. Theresa teacher inspires others to walk in her footsteps

By Gina Keating | Sept. 17, 2009 | The Catholic Sun 

In the 28 years Melissa Allen has taught third grade at St. Theresa Catholic School in Phoenix, much remains the same.

The mission-style architecture is just as charming, the grass grows just as green and the school bell clangs just as loud.

Allen estimates she has taught about 700 children in nearly three decades.

Former students often stop by her red-brick classroom to show their children where they went to school, and tell Allen all about their adult lives.

In what could be the sincerest form of flattery, Ann Howe now stands in her own teacher’s shoes, in a classroom next door.

Howe was a student of Allen’s in 1988.

She vividly recalls learning the linking verbs cheer, and dressing up as Helen Keller’s teacher, Annie Sullivan, for the Famous People Report.

The report has become a tradition in third grade, which began 27 years ago in Allen’s class and is like a rite of passage for eight-year-olds.

The connection between Allen and Howe is as long as a ribbon of highway up the highest mountain.

Allen was not only Howe’s teacher, but she was also her Girl Scout leader and her best friend’s mother.

“I was playing over at their house all the time, having sleepovers or going on camping trips,” Howe said. “We’ve spent a lot of time together.”

Faith, family and friends have played an integral role in her life. Howe, 29, and her four siblings have grown up in the parish since 1986.

Her brother, Fr. Matt Lowry, is the diocesan associate vocations director and chaplain of Northern Arizona University’s Newman Center.

Howe’s husband also attended St. Theresa Catholic School where their daughter and nieces now attend.

“It’s a nice tribute to our school,” Allen said. “Former graduates now have their children enrolled. It’s a life cycle that continues.”

Originally from Chicago, Allen attended 12 years of parochial school. She was always on campus, helping the nuns in the classrooms or in the convent.

“It was so family-like, and I felt safe there,” Allen said. “I always liked the environment of school, — there were never two days alike.”

Allen began to hone her skills in the family’s basement, playing teacher to 10 younger siblings using worksheets she made herself.

She graduated from Northern Illinois University with a bachelor’s degree in education.

As a newlywed at 22, Allen and her husband moved to Arizona where she landed her first teaching job at St. Matthew’s Catholic School. She taught there five years before moving to St. Theresa.

Howe’s journey into the classroom was briefly sidetracked with an interest in nonprofit management.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University in  human resource management, she received a master’s degree in education from University of Phoenix.

Howe taught one year at Queen of Peace Catholic School in Mesa before transferring to St. Theresa her second year to become the school’s librarian.

The day arrived when kindergarten and third grade both had openings.

Allen said she thought Howe would make a wonderful third-grade teacher, and began to make subtle comments like, “third grade is the best” and “they’re not as germy.”

Granted, it was hard for Howe to argue those points, but she also liked the independence of 8-year-olds.

With her move into third grade, Howe and Allen become cohorts, but just how hard was it to bridge the child-adult relationship into peers?

Let’s just say it didn’t blossom overnight.

“She used her teacher voice with me,” Howe said. “We were both standing our ground, and she used her teacher voice.”

It was an awakening for the veteran teacher whose reputation precedes her. Parents flock to her for advice, and she’s constantly recognized wherever she roams, even floating down the Colorado river.

“I have a lot of respect for Ann. She’s not intimidated by me and if she wants clarity, she will ask,” Allen said. “I recognize her great ideas, and to not be open to that wouldn’t be fair to her or her class.”

In the four years Allen and Howe have worked together — each classroom rotates, Allen teaches reading and Howe teaches math —  an unseen checks and balances has developed, along with humor, friendship and admiration.

“It was a slow, gradual change and it just happened as she got more comfortable with my ability to teach,” Howe said. “I think our relationship is special because of our dynamics in the past.”

Off campus, the two will call each other to discuss curriculum, vacation near Flagstaff or shop a 50 percent sale at a craft store.

“We are both strong teachers, and we’re good at what we do,” Howe said.

 “If I had been teamed with any other teacher, it would be different. There’s a connection between the two of us.”

That link extends into their personal beliefs as Catholic educators. Both desire their students to gain knowledge for use beyond the classroom, develop a deep and personal relationship with Jesus, and feel valued.

“St. Theresa is a very special place,” Allen said. “That’s why I stay here.”

Allen said she might be ready to slow down in two years, which will amount to a total of 35 years in education.

It appears she won’t have to look beyond her red-brick room to find a replacement.

Marissa Wolf, 24, is her classroom aide and is currently working on a degree in education from NAU.

Wolf was also a student of Allen’s in 1993.

“I hatched a teacher,” Allen said. Make that plural.