Thanks for stopping by the Bamford website!  I am Alissa Poduska, and I am lucky enough to be the principal of Bamford Elementary.  I was born and raised in northern Minnesota, where I earned my Elementary Education degree from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN.  My husband was ready to get back to his Colorado roots, and we made a move to Fort Collins, where he was born and raised.   In 2003, I began my teaching career, opening Bacon Elementary as a 3rd-grade teacher.  I then moved into an administrative role at Bacon while also teaching gifted and talented math to 4th and 5th-grade students.  My last two years at Bacon were spent serving the staff, students, and community as the assistant principal.  An opportunity to become the principal at Shepardson STEM Elementary came about in 2015, and I excitedly accepted that position.  In my five years at Shepardson, I built strong relationships with my team, the students, and the community, which allowed us to be a strong, growth-focused, and fun place to work and learn.  In my time there, I supported the team to reach superior levels of academic growth, receiving awards from the governor of Colorado.  In early 2020, I was offered my next adventure of opening the newest elementary school in Fort Collins, Bamford Elementary.  Opening a school is a dream come true for me, and I could not be more honored and humbled to be on this journey as the leader of Bamford Elementary.

I work hard to promote and model a healthy work-life balance because spending time with my family is the most important thing to me.  My husband and I have three children and happily live in Fort Collins.  Not only did all three of my children learn and grow in the Poudre School District, but my husband did as well.  You can find us playing games, traveling, scuba diving in Bonaire, riding bikes, and just having fun in our spare time.  We also spend a lot of time with our parents and siblings, who mostly all live nearby.  I personally love to cook and entertain my family and friends, read, exercise, and try to work in a little shopping when I can.

I am so excited to begin the Bamford journey with the staff, the students, families, and the community.  Let's go Wolves!!