Debbie Allen spent much of her career working in the Shawnee Mission
School District from which she retired in 2018 after 27 years of service.
Prior experience included six years of public-school teaching in Nebraska
and Missouri and many years in the private studio at the Toon Shop in
Mission, Kansas. Service in Shawnee Mission included teaching
elementary music, band, orchestra, and choir. In addition, Debbie
served as the Performing Arts Coordinator in Shawnee Mission for 11
years. She co- created the summer instrumental music program, in
which she taught and facilitated for 25 summers. She served as the
KMEA Northeast District Choir host for many years. She also hosted
nearly 100 clinicians for Shawnee Mission staff and students during her
tenure.
Her dedication to promoting learning in the arts led her to serve as a
Partner in Education with the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. for 5
years, allowing her to provide arts integration staff development to
teachers throughout the Kansas City Metro. She enjoyed an adjunct
faculty position at Baker University, training prospective teachers, for 7
years. Debbie continued to play principal clarinet in the Kansas City
Civic Orchestra and woodwinds in pit orchestras for community theater.
She enjoyed substitute teaching in the Blue Valley School District and
working in the summer at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. She
composed published works for middle school band, choir and
orchestra. She was blessed with two sons, a daughter-in-law, a son-in-
law, a granddaughter, and a grandson.
Her Music Education training was received at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, B.M.E. and at the University of Missouri-Kansas City,
M.M.E. A specialist certificate in ESOL was obtained from Emporia State
University. Additional graduate hours were completed at Mid-America
Nazarene University.