Originally from Hammond, Amanda Alaniz and her family moved to the Portage area when she was in the third grade. After living in West Lafayette for a while when she was an adult, Alaniz and her husband moved to Crown Point for a few years before permanently relocating to Portage for her schooling.
Currently, Alaniz is in her third year of being the principal of Central Elementary School in Portage. Previously, she taught at several local elementary schools, including Myer's Elementary, and served as a curriculum coach at Willowcreek Middle School. After being a Dean of Students at another local school, the Assistant Superintendent asked Alaniz if she would be interested in taking the job of principal at Central Elementary.
On a daily basis, Alaniz has many responsibilities as the principal, including to make sure she is supporting the learning process for the students and the staff, making sure they have the proper supplies to ensure students' instruction is perfected. A career-long responsibility she has is to partner with the families of her students, to make sure they have everything they need to make sure their children are successful in school.
"I love working here," Alaniz exclaimed. "Being able to come in each day and partner with everyone in my building to make sure that our students have a successful, productive day. I work with wonderful people and wonderful students, and I just love being able to do everything I can to help those in my school."
Through her work as the principal of Central Elementary School, Alaniz volunteers with several different organizations. Recently, Alaniz, along with the students and staff at Central Elementary, participated in a walk-a-thon partnered with the Northwest Indiana Food Bank for a Backpack Program. The Backpack Program is a program that sends students home for the weekend with meals. Alaniz and her school was able to raise enough money to serve seven more students with backpacks of food for the year.
"It was wonderful seeing the students realize that what they were walking for and that they were helping needy students in the community," Alaniz said. "It was truly great to see that sense of community spirit instilled in them, especially at such a young age. It's wonderful to see them get so excited to be able to help those in need."
She also participates in bell ringing with the Salvation Army with her students. All throughout the year, she helps the local YMCA to create a family day in September – where families can come together to spend time with fun activities in a safe environment. Finally, she participates in BeadForLife, which partners with women living in extreme poverty, providing business training, comprehensive support, and a chance to start-up capital through a one-of-a-kind model.
"I love being able to meet the needs of the community," Alaniz said. "After relocating, my husband and I had a goal to come back to Portage and give back to a community that gave so much to me."
In her spare time, Alaniz enjoys gardening, playing with her kids and doing family things.