Amanda Allison’s title is director of Pupil Personnel Services.
“It’s just a fancy way of saying I’m here to support students and families,” said Allison, the newest member of the Red Hook Central School District’s instructional leadership team.
The Board of Education approved Allison to take the reins from the retiring director of Pupil Personnel Services Jack Costello in April and she officially started in the role July 28. The department she leads is responsible for providing a range of programs and services to students with learning differences and includes teaching staff, school psychologists, counselors, school social workers, speech pathologists, occupational therapists and physical therapists.
In addition to students and families, Allison said her role is to support staff and administrators “to try to meet the goals we have for our graduates.” Though the task may sound simple, the programs and areas under her purview are varied, specialized and crucial to giving all students the tools they need to thrive: Special education services, ENL supports, mental health supports, professional development, and parent engagement, support and training encompassed the list rattled off the top of her head.
“It’s a wide net,” Allison said. “The overarching goal is just to provide whatever support is needed to get our students to where they are independent, happy and meeting the goals for a changing society.”
Allison comes to Red Hook from the Onteora Central School District, where she spent four years as its director of Pupil Personnel Services and assistant superintendent for Pupil Personnel Services. Before that, she spent two years as a principal for Southern Westchester BOCES’ special education programs, and 11 years as a school social worker and CSE/CPSE chair for the Carmel Central School District.
She earned a bachelor’s degree from Binghamton University, master’s degrees in social work from the University at Albany and educational leadership and administration from Bank Street College of Education, and other advanced certificates from Penn State and Brooklyn College. Allison, a state-licensed and board-certified behavior analyst whose parents also worked in special education – “it’s in my blood” – is a native of Brooklyn and a longtime mid-Hudson Valley resident.
“I’m here because I really, really love what Red Hook stands for; its dedication to inclusion,” she said, noting, “I love that my office gets to overlook a playground, and I get to be right with children, which is wonderful.”
Allison said her department serves as “a liaison” to connect families with services to meet needs. A mother of two, she said both of her own children have IEPs, or individualized educational programs, which gives her added perspective on “the empathy and compassion” needed when assisting a family seeking aid for their child.
“We want to try to get those supports in there quickly,” she said. “We want to try to alleviate concerns. We want to try to work with parents to understand how we can partner together to try to figure out where the disconnect is and what our data and our programs within our buildings can support.
“Eventually, it may mean we do need to look at if there’s an underlying issue, in terms of a learning disability or something else going on,” she said, “and that’s fine, too.”
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Staff Development Dr. Kitty Summers said Allison has “a deep passion for student well-being and a collaborative spirit.”
She noted Allison led initiatives in Onteora to enhance special education, expand mental health support and implement inclusive practices to ensure all students receive individualized care.
“She’s uniquely equipped to support the diverse needs of our students and families,” Summers said. “Her vision, dedication and student-first mindset will help us continue to grow as a supportive, inclusive and innovative district.”
Allison praised the work Costello has already done building the department’s continuum of services, at a time when social media and the COVID-19 pandemic has increased student need and decreased resources. The pair have worked together in the past, as some students from Onteora have attended Red Hook to utilize those services.
As for where she may want to take the department in the future, “I think we’re all, nationally and regionally, trying to continue to understand what mental health supports continue to be needed for our students – trying to manage and find resources where there are none, especially at the preschool level,” she said, noting a shortage of providers. “In partnership with other smaller districts, our BOCES, our county, that’s probably the work that continues to need to grow.”
Costello is still with the district for another few days and is helping acclimate Allison to the role. He said he is happy with the choice of whom he is passing the baton.
“The fact that she is a strong advocate for mental health for kids, for inclusion and with her social work and behaviors background,” he said, “I knew that the programs we’ve started here – like the clinical mental health program and ESS program – she would embrace them and continue to move them forward.”
For now, she’s working on familiarizing herself with Red Hook. Then, Allison said, “my goal is to engage with the community, engage with teachers, really put myself out there and understand how I can help continue to foster the good work the department has done and continue to make it grow.”