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Date: 3/15/2023
EAST LONGMEADOW — After 10 years as prinicpal at Birchland Park Middle School, Timothy Allen will be leaving East Longmeadow Public Schools at the end of the 2022-2023 school year to become an associate professor of education at American International College (AIC) in Springfield.
“This just started to feel like the time to look,” Allen said. He expected a long search process, and said he was not expecting to leave Birchland Park so soon, but when the position at AIC opened, everything fell into place.
Allen obtained his teaching degree at Wheaton University in 2000, before going on to earn a certificate of advanced graduate study in educational administration at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and, in 2013, a doctorate in education from AIC, the very institution at which he will now teach.
After working as a vice principal at various schools and a principal in Springfield, Allen joined East Longmeadow Public Schools in 2013. Allen said it has been a joy to work at Birchland Park.
“The staff and the students and the families, we do everything we can to make middle school fun,” Allen said. “It’s a place where people smile at each other.”
That said, he noted the job is “not without its stress. It’s hard to get a good night’s sleep. Running a school is minute to minute.” While not the only reason Allen is making the switch to higher education, he did say limiting stress was a factor.
In July 2021, while on vacation with his family, Allen experienced sudden cardiac arrest and spent four months recovering. Allen received support from family, friends and the community, who began the Timmy Strong Foundation to support community CPR training and the use of automated external defibrillators.
“After my heart event, you certainly try to figure out how to optimize your health going forward,” Allen said.
Of his decision to change jobs, Allen said, “This was a really hard decision for a lot of reasons, but especially because of how supportive everyone was during my health emergency.” However, Allen added, “everyone has been so, so supportive” since announcing the switch in his career path.
Outside of education, Allen devotes his time to coaching girls varsity basketball in Longmeadow and the Springfield Ballers, an Amateur Athletic Union basketball team. Allen works with the Timmy Strong Foundation and is also the founder of 16 Lyrics, a nonprofit that seeks to fight racism “through education, community outreach, and intensive support,” according to its mission statement.
“I have a lot of interests and I plan to continue them,” Allen said.
Allen’s last day with the district is June 30.