In Allie Free’s world, teaching sixth-grade English Language Arts at Byron Middle School isn't simply a job; it's the place where her heart found its calling—and where she now helps shape the beginnings of who students will become. She grew up here, walked these same hallways, and sat in classrooms led by the very teachers who now greet her as colleagues. And yet, the most remarkable part of Allie's story is not that she came back—it's the moment in high school when a single teacher sparked a lifelong purpose.

Her inspiration was Angie McHale, the English teacher whose influence still guides Allie's work today. "She inspired me 100%," Ally says. "I wanted to be and do what she did." That spark launched Allie into education, first in Rockford for seven years, and now back home in Byron for the past seven. She even teaches alongside Angie today. "I still call Mr. Nestler 'Nestler,'" she laughs. "I don't think I'm supposed to call him Ryan."

But here's what makes this story even better: Allie has never actually told Angie any of this. "I don't think I've ever even told her that," she admits. Which means Angie McHale is learning—right now, in this magazine—that she is the reason one of Byron's own came back to do exactly what she does.

Returning to Byron clarified something Allie never fully appreciated as a student: just how special this place is. She sees it now when her three-year-old son, Owen, walks into Mary Morgan with teacher Mindi McKinley. She sees it in the district's exceptional library and its shared belief that schools deserve the very best. "We're incredibly fortunate," she says. "You don't realize it until you leave and come back."

Ask Allie what she loves most about sixth grade and her eyes light up. "They're still kids, but they're becoming who they want to be," she says. Sixth grade is a strange, wonderful, awkward bridge where everything is starting to take shape. "It's an awkward time," she says, "but getting to help guide them while still having fun with them is the best part of my job."

Part of that joy comes from watching students develop their own reading identities. Ally is a believer in books of every form—graphic novels, fantasy epics, Jeff Kinney, Percy Jackson, anything that keeps pages turning. "I don't care what you read," she says. "I want you to find what you like." Her classroom library is large enough to rival a small bookshop, and she adds to it constantly, often buying books herself. If a student requests a title, it's on her doorstep the next day. "You requested a book. That alone is just like, my happy moment."

Her passion for reading goes beyond decoding text. For her, the real power of literacy is agency—being able to navigate leases, job applications, credit-card fine print, blueprints, and communication of every kind. It's also empathy. Through novels like A Long Walk to Water, students learn compassion. Each year, her sixth-graders raise money for Water for South Sudan. Last year alone, they raised almost $2,000. "They cared," she says simply. "For those few weeks, they cared deeply about people half a world away."

Allie's work is strengthened by her partnership with fellow teacher Emily Deuth, who handles writing standards while Allie leads reading instruction. Their collaboration has driven test scores upward. "When you have that strong partnership, that's what really gets the kids to learn," she says.

Behind the scenes, her sixth-grade team is a source of strength and humor. They've supported colleagues through deaths, surgeries, and new babies—including when Allie herself had Owen and underwent back surgery. "We pick each other's slack up," Allie says. She's been team lead for three years, coaches eighth-grade cheer (her ninth year), and this year picked up student council when it was about to die out. "I can't let it die out. I'm just going to do it."

Byron is a community that prioritizes education and shows up for everything. It's the reason people come back, including her own brother, now an assistant chief at the Byron Fire Department. "So many people come back because they know there was something special here," she says.

In her classroom—between the jokes, the awkward transitions, the shared novels—Allie is helping keep that something alive. She gets nine months with each group to impart skills, spark empathy, make reading feel like possibility, and give them confidence to step into the future.

"It's our time," she says. "How are we going to make the most of it?"