Henrico's Top Teachers – Matt Allender, Deep Run High School, exceptional education

As an exceptional education teacher, Matt Allender works with students who often doubt themselves and their capabilities.

A big part of his job, he observes, is breaking down those barriers of self-doubt, instilling confidence, and helping kids feel valued and heard.

"Teaching has taught me that every student carries a story," Allender says, "and sometimes they just need someone willing to read it with them."

Like so many who feel the pull toward teaching careers, Allender had no shortage of such "readers" growing up – educators who made it clear they saw potential in him.

"I wanted," he recalls, "to be that person for others."

One educator in particular, who served as a work coordinator in the high school special ed program, inspired him to gravitate toward the exceptional education field.

His dad.

Allender has always looked up to his father, and says the two of them have a lot in common.

"Seeing the way he connected and supported these students made me want to do the same."

Among those who will vouch for Allender's skill in supporting and connecting with today's young learners is a dad who wrote to nominate him as a Top Teacher.

In his nomination, the father said that his son had been struggling through "the darkest time of his life" when Allender began working with him. But with the help of his teacher and advocate, the boy ultimately pulled himself out of the depths and regained his equilibrium.

"[Allender] worked tirelessly," said the boy's dad, "to show our son he was valued and cared for."

When Allender reflects on his most rewarding and memorable experiences as a teacher, they often involve similar turnarounds in a student's perspective.

One student who stands out in his memory was so discouraged that he told Allender he was beyond help and “too far gone.”

But by the end of the school year, after months of painstaking support and encouragement, the boy had changed his outlook for the better and rewritten, as Allender puts his, inner narrative.

“Thanks for not giving up on me," the student told him. "Even when I gave up on myself.”

Perhaps the most dramatic turnaround Allender has seen in a student, however, involved a boy who initially came in "quiet and disengaged."

The teacher couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong, but "something just felt off," he says.

After making little headway in his efforts to help the student, Allender reached out to the family with his concerns. Eventually, it was discovered that the boy had an undiagnosed medical condition that was largely responsible for many of his school difficulties. With his condition diagnosed and under control, he was able to get the help he needed.

The transformation, Allender recalls, was both heart-warming and remarkable to see.

"I watched a student go from barely hanging on, to fullness of life," he says.

"I’ll never forget what it meant to be part of that story."