Welcome to the Allen Elementary Library! My name is Andrew Gonzalez and I will be your child’s library media specialist this year. This is my fifteenth year of teaching (7 in the library) and I am very thrilled to be working with your student, the Allen staff, and our community at large. It is my intention to create a safe, positive, and organized environment in our library. As your child's teacher-librarian, he/she will learn lifelong skills in literacy, information, and technology. It is my hope that all of our library students will be future-ready and empowered to dream, achieve, and believe!

Our library is not like the stereotypical libraries of the 20th century. It is not a place to "just check out books," it is way more than that. It is our community hub! We are building a community of strong and independent readers, information seekers, and technology users. 

It is my belief that 21st Century students should learn and know 21st Century skills. I am happy to teach these skills. Everyday of the week, students are working on literature and information skills using the resources in our library. On Thursdays, students are working on S.T.E.M. skills with an emphasis on problem solving using Technology and Engineering. To be future ready, our S.T.E.M. instruction will allow students to practice critical thinking, provide oppurtunities for collaboration, learn effective communication skills, show off their individual creativity and promote curosity in new learning. It is my hope that these skills allow our students to grow as library users and life-long learners.