BALTIMORE — Baltimore— When people meet her, the first thing they notice is her wide, warm smile. As you converse with her, they realize how intelligent she is and how strong her faith in God is. These aspects of Allison Hall-Pridgen are the beginning but certainly not the end of her life’s beautiful unfolding.
Allison Hall-Pridgen, a Spanish teacher at the Baltimore Design School, has been awarded a grant from the U. S. Department of Education Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad program. Under the grant, Towson University will provide a six-week immersion experience in Peru this summer. This grant was awarded to 15 tenured teachers across the country.
The program has the stated goals of enhancing the educators’ Spanish language competence, developing intercultural competence and knowledge of Latin American culture, and helping teachers create curriculum units to use in their classrooms, schools, and communities. The awardees will be working with two faculty members from Towson University’s College of Liberal Arts— Dr. Colleen Ebacher and Dr. Ronn Pineo, and selected teachers from across the nation.
Hall-Pridgen is totally excited about this special opportunity and believes that it will increase her ability to provide her students with greater awareness and understanding of the Latin American culture.
“I am humbled by this opportunity. It has been the desire of my heart, since 1995, when I started teaching for Baltimore City Schools,” Allison Hall-Pridgen said.
Teaching Spanish is only one of Allison’s passions. She is an accomplished artist and on any given evening, you can find her instructing friends and relatives at one of her painting parties. She also creates a wide variety of glass mosaics ranging from picture frames to vintage furniture. She is a member of the Rev. Joan Coursey Dance and Mime Ministry that was named after her mother by the pastor of St. John AME Church, Rev. Dr. Peggy E. Wall.
Allison is the wife of Andre Pridgen and the mother of Christina and Joshua. Additionally, she is a graduate of Forest Park High School, Baltimore, Md., and Christopher Newport University, Newport News, Virginia.