[This blog post was written by eighth grader Emma T. ('25).]
Allison Zimmerman has been teaching at Marin Horizon for five years. She was teaching third grade until she recently moved to the upper school as a 7th/8th Social Studies teacher. Allison didn’t originally think she wanted to be a teacher, “My intention was to work one-on-one with students through therapy work, but I realized how powerful working with a group of students was and the impact you can create over time. I felt grateful to be trusted and part of students' educational journey every day.”
She loves Marin Horizon because of the rich community that it has. “One of my favorite things as a teacher is that I can know my students before I even teach them because of how small our school is. For example, I often get to play with them at recess, see them at after-school activities, and get to know them through casual conversations over their time at Marin Horizon.”
One of her favorite memories at MHS is “The first time I ever saw an 8th grade graduation. Seeing the 8th graders that year give such thoughtful speeches about their time at MHS made me realize how Marin Horizon is such a special place. I felt inspired by their intentionality and courage. It helped me see that Marin Horizon is the right place for me.”
In her free time, Allison likes to “camp, hike, kayak, volunteer at the Marine Mammal Center, or do anything that contains [her] dog.” Her greatest inspiration is her grandfather, who “immigrated here from Argentina to build a better life for him and his family. He was always positive and reminded me to focus on the importance of education.”
Allison has been loved by her students for years. As an eighth grader Riley says, “I like Allison's class because she makes it very interactive. Allison is very nice and respects every student's learning style.”
I chose to sit down and interview Allison because of the clear devotion that she has for students' learning journeys. She truly cares about how each student is doing, both emotionally and educationally. Allison has really shown how skilled of an educator that she is with her jump from teaching elementary school to middle school. We are very lucky to have a person like her at Marin Horizon.