Dr. Shannon Allen is the superintendent of the Beaumont Independent School District. She made history on April 17, 2019, by being named the first female superintendent in the district.  A Beaumont native and a graduate of BISD, Dr. Allen is uniquely qualified to serve the community as the district's leader through her background and work experience of 23 years at BISD. Over the years, her passion and commitment to the students in the district and the entire community has continued to increase.  She earned her bachelor of science in biology with a minor in chemistry from Prairie View A&M University and obtained her master’s and doctoral degrees in education from Lamar University. 

She began her career as a substitute teacher at Fehl Elementary and quickly found her niche in education. She became a biology teacher at Clifton J. Ozen Magnet High School in 1997 and has since served as an elementary school curriculum coordinator; assistant principal and magnet coordinator; middle and high school principal; and Associate Superintendent of Secondary Schools. 

An advocate for all students, Allen is focused, driven and committed to the success of the more than 18,000 students in Beaumont ISD.  It is her mission to change the trajectory of the lives of all students so that they become the next generation of educators, innovators, business owners, and community leaders. Her focus is to improve the entire community by breaking the cycle of poverty through providing an exemplary education for every student.  

She continually strives to be a transformational leader and is changing the philosophy by which the work of the district is executed. Every Moment Matters or the EM2 logo can be seen all across the district and applied in classrooms each day.  Allen believes that maximizing the time and continuous improvement in all facets of the organization will yield increases in reading performance, student attendance and ultimately attract families back to BISD. 

Allen is a member of the board of directors for the Southeast Texas Workforce Commission, the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce, the advisory board for the Art Museum of Southeast Texas and she is a member of the Rotary Club of Beaumont. She has been recognized for her work over the years and been the recipient of the A & M Outstanding Classroom Teacher Award, Region V Middle School Principal of the Year, Lamar University’s Outstanding Doctoral Student and has been recognized by Pioneering Women. She has been married to retired educator Red Allen for the past 10 years.