Shady Hill School

As a young lawyer, Allison’s days were spent on civil rights and environmental cases, and her goal was societal change. Allison believed deeply in the work she was doing, but with each day, her certainty in the impact of her efforts waned. Community groups went bankrupt fighting corporations in environmental cases, justice was harder to capture for teens in some zip codes rather than others, and the bureaucracy of the law was a heavy weight to carry while trying to impact the lives of individuals. During the time, a friend contacted her with a request. Would Allison go and speak with a group of eighth graders about the fourth Amendment, putting the case law in the context of school locker searches and privacy? Allison hesitated, but after some cajoling and time, she said “Yes;” this response was the first step in reshaping her life’s work and direction. Her law office was a mix of gray, taupe, and beige, the red spine of the Federal Reporters the only color in library. Walking into a middle school library in Wachusett, color was everywhere: bright bulletin boards, colorful clothes, neon headbands, and print backpacks. Just as the vibrancy of a school community stood in stark contrast to her life in law firms, so too did the immediacy of the work. A one-hour conversation with students could prompt them to ask new questions, wonder about forces they may not have considered, and inspire them to learn more. Allison began to speak more and more in schools, and her understanding of the power of education as a force of change was developed. Allison spent ten years teaching middle school humanities, and her conviction about the power of education only grew during this time. After she made the transition to administration, Allison learned even more about the impact of a school’s values and education not just on children, but on the adults in the community as well. Allison is passionate about the power of schools to shape a more just, healthy and empathetic society, and Allison is confident our partnership with Ashoka and Changemaker schools could further and fortify their efforts at Shady Hill School.