“Reading is such an important skill, and I felt like a lot of the learning deficits that students have are because they couldn’t read, ” said Allyson Fletcher, a returning librarian at Berkeley. Fletcher has been living her whole life in Tampa until four years ago when she moved to Texas. Fletcher worked many jobs involving children in the past. She has a Master’s in Information Science and worked as a child abuse investigator at the nearby sheriff’s office. Now, she is back at Berkeley and working in the same position as she had before. Fletcher said she misses the old students she used to teach, as they have all graduated now. She loves the positive atmosphere and how everyone is excited to be at Berkeley. 

Four years ago, Fletcher’s family moved to Texas, where she worked as a technology coordinator. After living in Texas, Fletcher said that it is way hotter in Texas. Not to mention, in Texas, almost every restaurant has BBQ, including Chinese and Mexican Restaurants. There is a lot of spice in the foods there as well. 

She loves being outdoors and Harry Potter. “I love the writing style of JK Rowling and how she was able to communicate so much of what Harry was going through and how she put little clues throughout the books and then they didn’t come to fruition until later in the series,” she said.

Above all, Fletcher’s dedication to making learning fun is truly inspiring. “You come up with ideas for students to continue to learn, but also have fun because that’s when you learn the most,” she said.