by David Snow
The Paducah Sun
December 10, 2022
Used with permission.
After 31 years in education and four years as the principal of Paducah Tilghman High School, Allison Stieg has announced her retirement.
Stieg began her educational career as a chemistry teacher and girls’ basketball coach at Ballard Memorial High School from 1991 to 1999 and became a math teacher at Heath High School from 1999 to 2002.
She came to Paducah Tilghman in 2002 as a math teacher and girls’ basketball coach.
She was the PTHS varsity girls’ basketball coach from 2002 to 2008, a tenure that included a trip to the state Final Four in the 2004-05 season. Her teams also won the First Region title and the District 2 title that year, and she was named the Region 1 All-Purchase Coach of the Year and KABC Coach of the Year, guiding her team to a 29-6 record.
She amassed a 112-41 (.732) record in six years at the helm of Paducah Tilghman.
Stieg was named the school’s dean of students in 2008, a position she held for 11 years before being named principal in 2019.
She succeeded Art Davis, who retired in 2019 after 43 years in education and 16 as the PTHS principal.
“Mrs. Stieg’s passion for each of our students and the tradition of excellence at Paducah Tilghman has been outstanding,” said Superintendent Donald Shively in a release issued by the district office.
“She has been a courageous leader throughout the pandemic ensuring our students and staff needs have been met. We will miss her greatly and will always be grateful for her service to Paducah Tilghman.”
Stieg told The Sun that she “felt it was time” to retire after 31 years in education.
“I’ve kind of always known when I’m done with something and it’s time to move on,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed every minute that I’ve been here, but I think now, it’s just time for me to move on to other things.”
Stieg added that she has no set plans yet for what she will do after June.
“Right now, for the first time in my whole life, I don’t have a plan,” she said. “And that’s a little scary because I am definitely a planner.
“I told myself that’s not going to be a reason not to retire. I’m going to go ahead and retire without having a plan.”
One of the largest legacies of her tenure was guiding the school through instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That was very hard because it felt like, every day, there was new guidance, there were new decisions that needed to be made, things that no one has ever gone through before,” she said. “So, not only was I a first-year principal just trying to navigate those waters, but I was having to make decisions on things that we had no experience with.
“It was just hard; it was difficult. But, I feel like we did make it through. We’ve come out on the other side and we learned a lot from the pandemic, I believe, and I think it’s only going to make us stronger.”
Stieg said she appreciated the support and respect of her staff over the years.
“They have been so kind in helping me make the transition from dean to principal,” she said.
Stieg said she would miss her students, seeing them in the hallways, in her office or in games or productions.
“I’ve loved working with them. That’s the favorite part of this job is how much time you can spend with the kids and the faculty and staff,” she said. “I’m really going to miss that part of it.”
Looking back on her tenure as a principal and administrator, Stieg said she feels like it has helped her grow professionally.
“Starting as a teacher and a coach here at Tilghman, all the way up — I worked my way up to this top position, which I always wanted,” she said. “I’m very proud of that, and I hope that does set for some other students or people in the area, that you can start at the beginning and end up at the end, somewhere that means a lot to all facets of teaching.”
Stieg’s husband, Brad, is the principal of the district’s Choices alternative school, and Allison Stieg said her retirement would not affect that.
“He will still be there,” she said. “He knows that it’s just my time and I’m just going to be a dog mom for a little while.
“I’m very proud to have served. I just love everything about Paducah Tilghman; I always have and I always will.”