Special Bond for NCHS Principal Allen and Seniors

By Megan Middleton, CISD Communications & Marketing

NCHS Graduation - 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 31 at Fort Worth Convention Center

Seniors at North Crowley High School joke that Principal Stefani Allen may just follow them on to college after graduation.

That’s because Allen has served many of this year’s graduating seniors almost continuously as their principal since intermediate school.

Allen worked two years as principal at Sue Crouch Intermediate School, followed by two years as principal at Summer Creek Middle School and is now in her fourth year as principal at North Crowley High, only missing the group for one year during ninth grade.

“You get to know a lot about kids that way,” said Allen, who has worked 15 years in Crowley ISD. “I haven’t only known them as teenagers, I knew them as children. I got to experience them crying over broken pencil boxes and then here at the high school dealing with grown-up decisions about college or military or love and all that goes with being a teenager on the cusp of your adulthood.”

The continuity also has given her an opportunity to get to know students’ families well and create deep relationships, she said.

Allen estimated that about half of the more than 500 seniors graduating had her as principal since intermediate school. She said she feels a bit like a mom to this group because she’s interacted with them for so long.

“It is going to be tough to see them go,” she said, noting that sentiment extends to all the students she’s picked up along the way since that fifth grade year. “In terms of the senior class, I’ve been here the whole time they’ve been at North Crowley High School, so I feel very connected to this class. Every class is very important to me, but this class I have been with a long time.”

Thumbing through old intermediate and middle school yearbooks the week before graduation, some of Allen’s longtime students laughed and squealed with excitement as they saw younger versions of themselves, classmates and faculty and took time to reminisce with their principal.

“Mrs. Allen, you haven’t changed at all!” senior Andrew Lee said.

She reminded them of the blue backpacks she gave them in sixth grade — the ones that said, “Class of 2016.”

“I thought that was so long away,” senior Raegan Hornsby said.

While she’s watched the students grow up, Allen said sometimes it’s hard not to see that group as the little 10 year olds she knew in intermediate school. Students say they haven’t seen much change in Allen over the years. Senior Xavier Hodge said she still has the same enthusiasm she did when they were small and is just as involved.

Seniors said they will miss their principal, who has offered them support, a positive attitude and a listening ear along the way. For some, her guidance has even helped turn around their lives.

“Knowing her all my life has been really life changing,” senior Andrew Lee said, noting different troubles he had when he was younger. “Instead of judging me and kicking me out, she embraced me and tried to turn me around.”

Lee said he felt like some people looked at him like a lost cause, but not Allen.

“She didn’t think that way of me,” said Lee, who has now been accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy. “She stuck with me. She discussed the problems with me and what I needed to do to fix it … It was really life changing. I didn’t want to do those things any more. I wanted to set goals for myself. And Mrs. Allen really helped me out through all that.”

Senior Guy Green also said Allen didn’t give up on him when he got into trouble in fifth grade.

“Every time I messed up, she got me back in school,” Green said. “She was just always there to help me out, or if I had a problem, she was there to talk to.”

Xavier Hodge, another of Allen’s longtime students, said she has become a mother figure.

“If we need anything, we can come talk to her,” Hodge said. “She’s always there. She’s always available. And no matter how much we failed her, she never gives up on us.”

Senior Sara Wild, added, “She was very much our guardian angel the whole time.”

But the length of time they’ve known Allen is not what makes their relationship with her so special. It’s just who she is.

“Whether you’ve known Mrs. Allen like we have for eight years – or eight days – she’ll impact your life and change the way you think about things,” senior Raegan Hornsby said. “She’ll make you feel like you’re important, like you’re worth something. That’s just the type of person she is.”

Hornsby knows leaving North Crowley and Allen behind after graduation won’t be easy.

“I just love North Crowley,” she said, teary eyed. “I just think it’s awesome. She’s the best principal. It’s going to be hard to say bye.”

Allen said she feels blessed to have known these students for the last eight years.

“They say I’ve changed their life — they’ve changed my life. They really have,” she said. “They’re a good group of kids.”

Saying goodbye at graduation will be tough for her too.

“The thought of it just makes me teary,” Allen said. “I can’t believe that they’re growing up and going on and going to the next phase of their life.”

Allen said part of what makes North Crowley High special is the tight knit faculty, staff and students.

“It really is a family. I truly believe that,” she said. “The faculty and the students, we really depend on each other and share a lot of great experiences. There’s a lot of celebrations here with academics, sports, JROTC and fine arts, just so many awesome ways kids can show their talents.”

North Crowley High means a lot to Allen professionally and personally — both her sons attended, and her daughter is currently a student.

“I adore North Crowley so much,” she said. “It’s just been a huge part of who I am. I run it like a principal, but I also run it like a mom. What kind of school would I want my kid to go to? And that’s the kind of school I run.”

She has high expectations for her seniors as they prepare to graduate and hopes they realize the greatness each has inside.

“I feel honored that I got to see them through this time,” she said. “I’m excited to see what they’re going to do because they’re just such cool kids. I know they’re going to do a lot for the world, and I can’t wait to see that.”