When Holyoke High School North students search for their 9th grade English teacher Sheila Fallon on the internet, they can see she was the 2014 Grand Colleen in the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
“Following graduation, I hope to obtain an English teaching position in Holyoke,” she was quoted as saying in a Feb. 23, 2014 MassLive article about her crowning. Since becoming an English teacher in Holyoke, Ms. Fallon said her students who have read the article will tell her, “Wow, you’ve followed your dream.”
Ms. Fallon grew up in Holyoke, first attending parochial schools and later attending Holyoke High School from 2007-2011. She went on to study at Elms College in Chicopee for both her undergraduate and graduate studies where she earned a double major in English and secondary education. Her first job was a one-year teaching position in Chicopee, where she had previously done her student teaching. When she came back to Holyoke, she taught 10th grade English for one year and has been teaching 9th grade English ever since. She is also the Freshman Academy Lead for the whole school and a Team Lead for one of the three sections of freshman.
At Holyoke High School North, each freshman is assigned to one of three teams with a core group of teachers and students where they interact the most, creating a more nurturing environment for students. Students participate in Freshman Seminar, which is designed to support students through the transition from middle to high school, which is one of the most critical transition points in a student’s educational journey. Ms. Fallon oversees the Freshman Seminar lessons. These lessons are designed to support each student’s adjustment to the larger high school setting, where their grades count as a factor for graduation and college admission and where students experience changing peer dynamics. Did you know that students who end their ninth-grade year on track are almost four times more likely to graduate from high school than those who are off track (University of Chicago)? Ms. Fallon is one of the key leaders who monitor freshman-on-track data to identify students who need more support and trends to be addressed by the school.
Why is Ms. Fallon so committed to teaching in Holyoke? “Holyoke kids are the best,” she said. “Holyoke is my community. It’s really important to me that my community thrives as a whole, and I feel like that starts at the schools. I plan to send my children some day to HPS. I’m going to be living in this community with the people who go to school here, so I want everyone to feel like they have a good school experience where they are supported. I had an excellent experience as a student in Holyoke, and I want other students to feel that support.”
She also joined the district’s Retention Working Group this year because she wants to be a part of the solution to promote strong working conditions for teachers, so that students can rely on consistent caring adults in their lives at school. She wants students to experience the worthiness of teachers and staff who remain in Holyoke to support their education.
It’s not surprising that Ms. Fallon—an English teacher—loves to read in her free time. Her favorite book as a high school student herself was “Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger, although she finds that her students like “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck more when it comes to the classics. “Students really connect with the emotional experiences and interactions of the characters,” she said. She aims to teach all books in a way that students understand the overall human condition. She strives to have students “feel that connection to the text and how the text connects them to other people in their lives.”
Ms. Fallon also loves to cook. She enjoys experimenting with new recipes that she finds online or from cookbooks at the library. She is known for bringing cookies into school for her students. Some have asked her if she also went to culinary school! She is also part of a women’s axe throwing league, serves on the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee, and coaches one of the high school basketball teams in the Holyoke Safe Neighborhood League. The season starts in early December, and she hopes to see many students and families cheering on the participating Holyoke students.