Allie Galas is a fixture in the Jessie Beck school community and Washoe County School District (WCSD). Her years of expanding the minds of young learners throughout WCSD led her to teaching fourth grade at Jessie Beck, where she continues to make an impact on students every day by leading an inclusive, positive, safe, and engaging classroom.
Utilizing restorative circles, regular classroom meetings, and research-based, hands-on projects, Galas promotes student collaboration while building their problem-solving and higher-order thinking skills. She fosters ownership of learning by empowering students to lead classroom discussions, lessons and conferences – taking risks and learning from their mistakes. For example, while guiding students through the CUBES (Circle, Underline, Box, Evaluate, Solve) math strategy, Galas encourages them to confer with each other on the right path to the solution, then check their answers. Galas also draws from her Guided Language Acquisition Design (GLAD) and English Language Acquisition Development (ELAD) trainings to effectively support English Language Learners. Her efforts have yielded continuous math and ELA performance growth.
Galas is committed to bettering herself and those around her. She opens her doors to observation, mentors student teachers and new teachers, and has participated in a science-of-reading book study, Regional Professional Development Program (RPDP) trainings, and a local education agency (LEA) special education support class. Galas works with the fourth grade team, using programs such as Benchmark and EnVision to design standards-based lesson plans. Over the past two years, she has participated in committees and classes to enhance the educational experience, including 21st century learning pedagogy, education access, family engagement, and social-emotional learning. In WCSD, she leads professional development as part of her role in the Restorative Practices cohort, and presented at the New Teacher Project Summer Academy for hundreds of district personnel. Galas also works with fellow fourth grade teachers in the district on developing student-centered lessons utilizing artificial intelligence.
Galas earned a Bachelor of Science in elementary education with an ESL endorsement in 2012 from the University of Nevada, Reno, and a Master of Education in educational administration in 2016 from Grand Canyon University.
Press Release: The $25,000 Nevada Milken Educator Award Goes to … Allie Galas!
