I grew up in Montgomery, MN in a family with six kids. I am the oldest girl with two older brothers and three younger sisters. I went to Holy Redeemer Grade School and Montgomery-Lonsdale High School. My ancestors were the first settlers in Montgomery, and I identify strongly to those roots (Czech/Bohemian) as well as to the lines on my mother’s side (Irish/German).
After earning my degree in elementary education from St. Catherine’s University in St. Paul, I promptly married Tom Allen (who had also grown up in Montgomery), and we started our family. We have three wonderful adult children. Patty, David, and Megan.
Patty is married, lives in Philadelphia and has four children, Lily, Tyson, Grace, and Luke. Patty works at Villanova University and Sean, her husband, teaches high school Spanish and coaches football.
David is a Benedictine monk at St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, MN. He is in the graduate program at the School of Theology at St. John’s and is hoping to become a priest.
Megan is working at Insight Global and is engaged to be married this spring..
Tom works for H2I Group and has his office at home. I am thankful for his willingness to cook for the family! He and I love to travel, dine out, spend time with the kids, attend movies and theater productions, and gather with friends and family.
In my free time, I enjoy doing jigsaw puzzles, reading, and being creative with art supplies. I also enjoy going to art shows, thrift shops, antique shops, boutiques, coffee shops, or anywhere my sisters, mom, or friends want to get together.
After a 15 year career working for my family’s businesses (Shenanigan’s in Rosemount and Shamrock Liquors in Cottage Grove), I was happy to get back into the field of education. Before coming to St. John’s School, I worked in Inver Grove Heights at Salem Hills Elementary School as a Special Education Paraprofessional. After completing the necessary course work to get my teaching license renewed I began working at St. John the Baptist.
I think our school is a treasury of strong Catholic identity, supportive families, and incredible people. I feel blessed to be counted among the staff of such an amazing and unique school.
Position: PreK Teacher
Email: sallen@sjb-school.org
