Profile Information
Allison Pontious
Nebraska, United States
Roles
Educator
Levels
Kindergarten (ages 4-5), Grade 1 (ages 5-6), Grade 2 (ages 6-7), Grade 3 (ages 7-8)
Subjects
Mathematics, Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Computer Technology
About me
My name is Alli Pontious, and I live in Omaha, Nebraska. I have been teaching in Westside Community Schools for 12 years. Over the years, I have taught Kindergarten through third grade. In 2011, I graduated with my bachelors in elementary education with an endorsement in early childhood. I continued my education and received my master’s in curriculum and instruction along with a reading endorsement through Doane University. In 2017, I was selected as Nebraska's PBS Digital Innovator. I work with NET and PBS to promote learning through educational technology opportunities. I am also Nationally Board Certified in early childhood education.
My adventures do not stop in the classroom. I am the lead facilitator for STEM and Robotics at my school. I work with community partners to help promote community engagement and real world applications. Throughout each school year, I host several STEM, coding, and robotics clubs. I also coordinate and host four family engagement nights, one each quarter. My family engagement nights include STEM activities, hour of code, hands on learning, and breakout of the classroom. Families are encouraged to work together to solve problems and find solutions. Each year our family nights expose more and more children to the world of computer science.
I am a district eMerge member, which means I collaborate with other eMerge team members with a focus upon the implementation of new technology learning strategies. My work includes meeting with building leadership to create immersive learning experiences for all staff and students. I am also part of my districts computer science toolbox team. Our goal is to get more computer science into the elementary schools. We hope to create a holistic environment where computer science is exposed to every student in our district.
To help other educators, I present at local conferences and teach for a local college. For the last five years, I have presented at the Nebraska Fall Ed Tech conference in Kearney, Nebraska and NETA in Omaha, Nebraska. My college classes include personalized learning and integrating technology into the primary classroom. These classes are a great way to interact with metro educators and gain experience for their classrooms.
This year, I hope to reach even more students than I have in the past with my family engagement nights, before and after school clubs, presentations, and collaboration with educators. My goal is to familiarize teachers, students, and families with technology tools and resources that will help lead them to success.