Finding their voice: How Allison Puerner inspires English learners at Mira Loma

The classroom fell silent as English Language Development Teacher Allison Puerner read aloud the folktale Jabu and the Lion. Her tone was flat and steady, the words uncolored by emotion. 

Then she looked up and asked, “Can a storyteller read like this and still be interesting?”

The students did not hesitate. “No!” they answered together, laughter filling the room.

For Puerner, that moment captured an essential truth about teaching English; it’s not just about grammar or vocabulary. It’s about rhythm, emotion and connection.

Originally from Texas, Puerner grew up surrounded by stories and languages from around the world, thanks to her father’s travels. 

“I always loved language,” she said. “My family thought it was strange, but it felt natural to me.”

Her passion led her to community college, where she helped classmates with essays. A professor noticed her talent and offered her a tutoring job, setting her on the path to teaching.

After earning a master’s degree in teaching English as a second language, she taught at De Anza College, Chico State University and Northern Arizona University. Now in her second year at Mira Loma High School and her tenth in education, she’s known for her creativity, empathy and calm classroom energy.

Puerner’s level 1 English Language Development (ELD) classroom buzzes with activity and sometimes music. Between lessons, she plays a few soft notes on her flute to refocus students.

“It’s a fun way to recapture attention,” she said. “But more than that, I want my students to feel cared for, the way I’d want my own kids to be treated.”

Her approach blends structure with joy. She uses scaffolding, breaking lessons into smaller steps and repetition through play. 

“Learning English takes persistence,” she said. “But it should also be engaging and fun.”

She also adapts her teaching to reflect her students’ backgrounds. After learning from an Afghan colleague that oral repetition is common in Afghanistan classrooms, she added similar methods and saw strong results. 

“I want to help students adjust to American classrooms while honoring where they come from,” she said.

During a recent class, Puerner asked a student to act out scenes as she read Jabu and the Lion. Then, they switched roles. Soon, students were laughing and mimicking words like “jumped” and “hungry,” learning meaning through movement instead of translation.

Around the room, hands shot up as students asked questions and eagerly volunteered to perform. Even the shyest students leaned forward with excitement.

“The energy in this group is amazing,” Puerner said. “They really want to learn and support each other.”

When chatter rose, she lifted her flute and the soft notes brought instant quiet. Sometimes she playfully called out in Farsi, “چُپ بشی” - Be quiet - a phrase she’d learned from her Afghan students. They grinned and quickly refocused.

Building trust through language

Puerner often greets students in their native languages. 

“I try to learn one word a week in each of my students’ languages,” she said. “Sometimes I say it wrong, and we all laugh. That’s the point. I want them to see that learning a language takes courage.”

That humility helps build trust.

“If I can laugh at myself while learning, they can too,” she said.

The supportive environment pays off. Every one of Puerner’s students improved by about 50 points on the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) last year, with several reclassifying as fluent English speakers.

Since Puerner prefers to be called Raney, her students affectionately call her “Ms. Raney.”

“Seeing them gain confidence is everything,” she said. “My goal is to help them understand how reclassification opens doors to new opportunities.”

Her students agree. 

“Ms. Raney encourages us to speak and makes the classroom comfortable,” said 11th grader Nasibullah. “I’ve improved so much, especially in remembering new words.”

For Khatira, a 10th grader, the change has been personal. 

“At first I was shy,” she said. “Now I can read better and speak with confidence. ELD is the best class I’ve ever taken.”

Puerner encourages families to join the learning process. 

“The best way to learn a language is together,” she said. “Even learning one or two English words a week with your child shows them it’s okay to make mistakes.”

At the end of the lesson, Puerner watched her students laugh, act and listen; not just learning English, but living it.

“To tell a story,” she reminded them, flute in hand, “you have to be a storyteller.”