When Rodger Allen grew up in Bensalem, he was always a fixer.

If something around the house broke, he would go into the garage, use the tools at his disposal and build something to fix it.

“I didn’t leave it up to anyone else because I knew that would take time and it wouldn’t get done,” Allen said. “So I would always fix problems.”

Allen, now the youngest ever member and first Black man to serve on the Bensalem School District board of directors, is still working to solve issues around his community and tackling them in his own way.

Starting to advocate early

At 15 years old, Allen’s mom dropped her son off at campaign offices — he wanted to volunteer. In 2017, the Bensalem High school freshman went door-to-door, knocking for Democrat Bryan Allen’s bid for the township mayor.

Later, during his first year at Temple University, Allen worked with Bucks United to knock doors for Howie Hayes and Val Ridge.

“As I got older, I realized there’s a lot of issues in this world — a lot of problems — but I really had a passion for education,” Allen said.

Throughout his campaign volunteering experience he came to believe a lot of the problems we currently face can be solved with a greater emphasis on education.

During his sophomore and junior years at the university, Allen was selected to join the school’s annual Harrisburg trip to advocate for Pennsylvania’s funding of Temple. 

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After two years in a row of participating in Owls on the Hill, the university asked if he could advocate on the school’s behalf other times throughout the year.

“That’s when I realized advocacy — especially advocating to people you elect — is something that I felt a weight or obligation to do,” Allen said.

In Harrisburg, the college student would speak with anyone who could help the public university, regardless of whether or not they were a Democrat or Republican. When his other peers would avoid conflict, Allen stepped up. 

Allen’s trips to the state capitol made him realize how much he enjoyed going to bat for others that could not voice their opinions.

“This is something that I can actually do,” Allen said. “I was inspired.”

Classroom experience

While working to secure funding for his university, Allen also wanted to support education in the Philadelphia school community. 

His sophomore year and junior years, he started to work with YMCA after-school programs, tutoring subjects like math, at John Welsh School in Kensington.

After this experience, he decided he wanted to do more and looked into how to become a substitute teacher while still enrolled at Temple.

“The requirement for substitute teaching is usually a bachelor’s, but I actually completed credits early, and I could prove to the agency I worked for that my bachelor’s would be done soon,” Allen said. “They put me in a charter school because charter schools have a little looser requirements.”

During his senior year, Allen worked as a part-time substitute in the Philadelphia School District at Mastery Charter Schools, teaching at the Lenfest Campus, Master Prep Elementary and Gratz Prep Middle.

Even though it was only substitute teaching, Allen thinks that this real-world experience in schools gives him an edge as a local elected official.

“It helped me make informed decisions today, because oftentimes we see leaders who never listened to their constituents, who never even step foot in a classroom, step foot in the district they’re leading,” Allen said.

A youthful perspective

Now serving the school district he was in just six years ago, Allen said his age and experience — both as a student and recently a teacher — has turned into one of his biggest assets.

Other board members are not out of touch, according to Allen, but they just have not been in the schools as recently he has. He brings a unique perspective that others cannot.

“Some of these teachers that now I’m governing and I get to hear their perspective, I can resonate with them because I’ve had some of these teachers,” Allen said.

However, the qualities that make Allen unique as a Bensalem school board member also have presented challenges. 

At his first walkthrough after being elected to the board, the school secretary did not recognize him as an official.

“It’s, oh hello sorry you have to go through this other entrance for parents. You have to sign in — parents or kids — what are you here for?” Allen said. “And it’s because of my age.”

In addition to his age, Allen said race has been one of his biggest challenges. While Black women have served on the Bensalem school board, he is the first Black man. 

When running for office and knocking doors, the 24-year-old said was called the N-word and other racial slurs. Sometimes people become accustomed to seeing things a certain type of way, Allen remarked. 

“I want the next generation to know it doesn’t matter how young you are, how you look, you can contribute to society and be an asset in any way, as long as you apply yourself, you have great ideas and you’re working hard for the right reasons,” Allen said.

Securing a better future for Bensalem

Elected in November 2025, Allen has had nearly a year on the board. When first stepping into his role, he realized there was no formal way to communicate with state legislators.

The district has a Pennsylvania School Board Association liaison, but Allen wanted to create a position that specifically focused on local Bensalem officials in Harrisburg. This way, the school could communicate directly with the legislators that are actively affecting their funding.

“Why aren’t we pushing our legislators to do something more?” Allen said.

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After working with the board’s president, Allen was able to create this legislative liaison role and now is working directly with officials to bring more money to Bensalem.

While he has only met once with the township’s state senator and representative once, he is hopeful the relationship will grow over time. A joint meeting is in the works for after the November election.

“I put out a framework where we will be meeting with legislators at least every couple months,” Allen said. “I will be inviting them to our board meetings, and they will be keeping me updated.”

“We can also communicate and pressure them a little bit,” he added.

This article was funded in part by the Sylvia W. and Randle M. Kauders Foundation.