Eighteen years of laughter, happy tears, and endless support come to an end as Allison Knoll resigns from Lakeland High School (LHS).
Knoll’s pink, flamingo-filled classroom will become a blank canvas for the new arrival.
“I love it! It’s pink. But it will be all sad and grey when she’s gone,” Paige Stranahan said.
Knoll is the student council advisor, theatre teacher, and Hello Hawks advisor. She has been a core piece of LHS during her time here.
“What’s different about Mrs.Knoll is her depth and connection with each student,” Noah Best said.
What will never fade from her room is the memories her and her students shared.
Knoll is an inspiration to so many here at LHS.
With almost two decades of experience, Knoll has decided to wave her white flag and step away from the job she loved.
On March 19, she made this decision public by giving a speech to the school board. Not only did she speak the truth but she also shed a few tears.
Clearly Knoll is not taking this lightly.
It is devastating to see such a bright person be disappointed enough by recent events to step away from the job she loves most.
Others would also argue that she is part of the spirit here at LHS.
Whether it’s dressing up for a spirit day, decorating for events, or even just sharing a smile throughout the hallway. There will always be a hole in the heart of LHS once Mrs. Knoll walks out of her classroom for the last time.
Not only was this a hard decision for her to make, but also something that was hard to share.
Before giving her speech to the board she began to cry and was afraid she would not be able to stop.
“The finality of all of it just hit me but I pulled it together in time to read the letter. The hardest part was saying the words “this is my letter of resignation”. I was really encouraged by all of the friends and family that were there to support me,” Knoll said.
However, she was shown so much support by the family and friends that were there that it made everything okay.
Support was a huge part of Knoll’s decision.
“Everyone has been very supportive of my decision. There have been lots of tears, but everyone I have talked to has understood,” Knoll said.
Without these people by her side it would have made this decision more difficult than it already was.
Knoll has loved her years here at Lakeland however she is not going to look back on this decision.
“There was nothing that almost made me stay. Sometimes you just get to a point where you know it’s time to move on,” Knoll said.
Even though her students’ reactions weighed on her she knew that this chapter had come to an end.
“A lot of my students cried and were sad, especially those that I have had all 4 years, but I was overwhelmed by the amount of students who said they were proud of me for taking a stand,” Knoll said.
She wants to clarify that she was not dumping this on her students but her Acting Two class was in the loop because issues prior had affected their curriculum.
This chapter for Knoll is now closing permanently because she is no longer pursuing the educational route.
“Unfortunately, I don’t plan to stay in education. It has just changed too much. I am hoping to find something where I can help people and be creative,” Knoll said.
She spoke about looking into fundraising or non profit opportunities to put her talents to good use.
As a student of Knoll’s I am sad to see her go. I wish her the best in her next adventure because I know that whatever she goes on to doing she will excel just like she did here. To me she was part of Lakeland’s heart and soul. It is unfortunate that someone with such light was pushed into the darkness.
Knoll would like to end with this,
“I am in a unique position to hopefully be a voice for the teachers and students who don’t have the freedom to leave. I hope and pray that change will come because of my words.”
