MTV and Blink-182 helped Shelburne's Sasha Allen teach herself English. Now she helps others learn the language.

Patrick Hite, Staunton News Leader
·4 min read
Sasha Allen, an English language learners aide at Shelburne Middle School, was named Staunton's support staff person of the year Monday night.
Sasha Allen, an English language learners aide at Shelburne Middle School, was named Staunton's support staff person of the year Monday night.

STAUNTON — For anyone who criticizes the power of television to teach, just ask Sasha Allen how much it can help. The instructional assistant at Shelburne Middle School grew up in Panama. When she was 15, her family moved to Japan to a U.S. military base.

Allen's mom spoke English, but with a Caribbean dialect. The English she heard at school in Panama was so much different than what her mom spoke that she struggled to understand her teachers. Those struggles continued once in Japan.

There was an English as a second language class in Japan, but no Spanish speaking teacher.

"They wanted to help me and they included me in the ESL class," Allen said, "but I couldn't make friends with people because they couldn't speak my language."

Allen gave herself three months to learn English, saying she was a good student and wanted to excel. She met her goal by watching television, specifically MTV's "Total Request Live," a show that played music videos and interviewed musicians. She'd watch the show with the captions on to help her learn English. She also was obsessed with the band Blink-182 and would study the lyrics to their songs to help her learn English.

Now, years later, Allen is able to use her experience as a teenager to help students in a similar situation. As an instructional aide in the English language learners department, Allen has a unique understanding of what it's like to not speak the language as you try to perform well academically.

In her second year at Shelburne, Allen was recognized this week as Staunton City Schools' support staff person of the year.

"The fact that this is only her second year doing this is absolutely unbelievable to me because she is the most natural, patient person," said Shelburne language arts teacher Brandy Johnson. "She is so good at what she does that it's unbelievable to me that this is only her second year doing it."

Brandy Johnson, left, and Sasha Allen were recognized at the January Staunton School Board meeting for the work they've done at Shelburne Middle School.
Brandy Johnson, left, and Sasha Allen were recognized at the January Staunton School Board meeting for the work they've done at Shelburne Middle School.

After living in Japan, Allen's family moved to Savannah, Georgia, where Allen lived until just two years ago. She was a sales manager in Savannah, overseeing multiple stores, but after 15 years of that Allen was feeling burned out in what was often a chaotic job. She was looking for a career change.

Once in Staunton, Allen thought it would be great to have the same schedule as her children. In retail there are very few holidays off and Allen missed that time with her family. She applied to Staunton City Schools, saying she was willing to do most anything. When she found out Shelburne needed instructional aides who spoke Spanish she felt it was meant to be.

"I loved it," she said. "I started and I was like, 'This is my job.' It's so rewarding."

Shelburne principal Lisa Warren said Allen is a great asset to the school community.

"She is awesome and amazing," Warren said. "I am thankful that she has chosen us.”

Many of the students Allen works with have conversational English skills, but struggle with classroom or school instructions sometimes. That's when Allen can help them better understand what is being explained. Monday at lunch one of her students couldn't comprehend that catfish was fish. The word "cat" at the beginning threw him.

Allen bounces from class to class, sitting in with various students when it is most helpful.

"At the beginning I was able to spend a whole period with them but now our Hispanic community is growing," Allen said. "So I get to spend maybe half a class or 10, 15 minutes with them, check in to make sure they're OK, that they understand the assignment and then go check in on another student."

Allen described herself as shy, saying standing in front of the school board meeting Monday night to accept the award was a little uncomfortable, but she is appreciative of the honor.

"I don't see it as an award for me," she said. "I just see it as the group. They're doing so well in all the classes. I'm just representing them."

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— Patrick Hite is The News Leader's education reporter. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Shelburne Middle School's Sasha Allen taught herself English with the help of MTV