Jim and Teresa Allison enjoy the summer sunshine with granddaughters Kyleigh and Lucy. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Madison Public Library’s new staff member will open classes, one targeted to help students with Common Core demands.

Teresa Allison is involved with programming for children and adult services. “When I saw the job posting, I was very excited,” she said. “I get to do the ‘fun’ stuff.”

For adult programs, Allison hopes to offer various classes and workshops. She will visit Madison Senior Center for a monthly craft activity. Allison will help to implement the Health Matters program. “Each month, we will host a public seminar given by authoritative health professionals on select health topics,” Allison said.

In children’s programming, Allison will start a class, “Nonfiction Connection” for grades K-5. “The common core standards emphasize nonfiction literature. To help support our school systems, I plan to provide exposure to nonfiction books on a certain topic, followed by a craft (and hopefully) motivate more children to read nonfiction books,” she said.

For working parents, she will host a family story time on Saturdays, twice monthly.

“The Madison library is a wonderful place to work. The staff and patrons have been very welcoming,” Allison said. “When I first moved to Madison and visited the library, I was very impressed with the programs offered.”

The branch’s future needs relate to space, she said. “We’ve outgrown our existing facility. With the proposed addition, we (can) offer more computers and a wider variety of programs to meet community needs.”

Allison earned a bachelor’s degree at East Tennessee State University. Before moving to Madison, Allison taught in elementary school for 24 years in Tennessee, West Virginia and Ohio.

About one year ago, she and husband Jim moved to Madison with his job as a mechanical engineer with the Army Corps of Engineers. Their son Justin and wife Rumiko live in Arlington, Va. Living near Atlanta, son Ben and wife Pamela are parents of Kyleigh, 4, Lucy, 3, and Declan, two weeks.

Teresa Allison enjoys time with family, reading, walking, making crafts and playing with their dogs, Dixie and Dewei.