Polk State graduate named Teacher of the Year driven by upbringing in foster care

Ashley Ray was inspired to become a teacher to give back to students like her and her siblings who grew up in foster care and became adopted brothers and sisters.

Ray was named Teacher of the Year at Palmetto Elementary School in only her second year of teaching. She graduated from Polk State College’s Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education Program in 2022 and credits much of her success to the preparation she received at Polk State.

“Perhaps the most valuable takeaways from the Polk State Education Program are the endorsements students graduate with,” Ray said. “For me, it is my ESOL endorsement – my school is 85% Latino, and six of my students this year didn’t speak English.”

Palmetto Elementary is also a D turnaround school, which means consistent visits from county and state officials to observe teaching and gauge student progress.

“Polk State helped me have the strength and confidence to handle constant observation and critique,” she said. “As a new teacher, that could be daunting, but I was ready for it thanks to Polk State.”

Competent and capable

Ray explained that her siblings come from a variety of backgrounds, similar to the students she serves as a fourth-grade reading teacher at Palmetto in Poinciana.

“Polk State helped me have the strength and confidence to handle constant observation and critique. As a new teacher, that could be daunting, but I was ready for it thanks to Polk State.”

“My principal told me that it was going to be challenging, but I felt competent and capable because of my ESOL endorsement through Polk State,” she added. “I love working with language learners. The foster care system has a high demographic of children from poverty and diverse backgrounds – those are my siblings. I grew up in a household that was very culturally diverse, and I find myself wanting to give back to children in similar situations that we experienced growing up in the foster care system.”

Polk State Education integrates English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL); Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM); Exceptional Student Education (ESE); and Reading K-12 endorsement competencies into the course curricula. This customized, standards-based approach is designed to provide graduates with a competitive edge in employment.

Ray attended Polk State College because it was the local, affordable option — her Bright Futures Scholarship covered 100% of her tuition costs at Polk State. She received her Associate in Arts with a sociology transfer intent in 2011 before transferring to the University of South Florida to study psychology.

“Being a foster kid, I have always been interested in how people live,” she said. “I’ve experienced different families, communities, and cultures and am fascinated by the differences and similarities.”

Then life happened. Ray’s mom passed away. She had her son.

When she decided to go back to school, she “needed something practical. Childcare is expensive so I thought, ‘What can keep me on the same schedule as my child?’”

In 2014, she changed her major to education but the commute to her university became too much.

Flexibility and resiliency

“Polk State answered my unspoken prayers,” she said of the Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education Program launching in 2016. “I had wished for so long that there was a local, affordable teacher education program. Once Polk State opened its program, I was on it – I had been waiting for this.”

Polk State is the only public post-secondary institution in Polk County offering state-approved teacher education preparation programs.

It took Ray a couple of years to pay off debt from her previous university. In 2019, she was financially ready to enroll in the Polk State Education Program.

“I took my prerequisites, then COVID hit,” Ray said. “I enrolled full-time in the program in August 2020 and I was impressed by how the faculty supported us through our online classes and uncertain times.”

“Polk County [Public Schools] and Polk State are great at connecting students with mentor teachers who are able to guide and prepare us for our future classrooms.”

“They taught us flexibility and resiliency; to be patient and adaptable,” she reflected. “These are skills that I still use today in my classroom. Things are always changing, and we need to be flexible in our responses to our students and their needs, what is happening at the moment in our classrooms, and with everchanging technologies in our digital world.”

She also touted Polk State Education’s focus on field experiences and internships for students to gain valuable hands-on experience in the real-world classroom setting alongside working professionals.

“Polk County [Public Schools] and Polk State are great at connecting students with mentor teachers who are able to guide and prepare us for our future classrooms. I had really supportive teachers who opened up their classrooms and gave me that firsthand, real-world experience I needed,” Ray said. “They also placed every single person I graduated with into a job either before they graduated or right after they graduated.”

A rewarding career

Polk State Education developed its built-in measurements for state-mandated standards in collaboration with Polk County Public Schools, Polk County’s largest employer. More than 167 graduates from the Polk State Education Program are currently teaching in nearly 60 Polk County Public Schools. Others are in private schools, other districts, or out of state.

Ray had her job interview with Palmetto Elementary in the morning and her graduation ceremony that evening. The next day, she learned that she had received her first teaching position.

For 2024, three graduates – Tracy Garcia, Heather Kunze, and Ray – were named Teacher of the Year at their schools. Current student Julia Barnett was also recognized as School-Related Employee of the Year.

“It’s because of Polk State and how this program prepares us,” Ray said. “It’s a very rigorous program and I’m honest about that because it’s tough. But when you get into the classroom, you’re ready.”

Beyond the classroom, Polk State Education also instilled the importance of citizenship in Ray, who served as secretary and ultimately vice president for the College’s Florida Future Educations of America (FFEA).

At Palmetto Elementary she created the soccer club, reinstated the safety patrol and media aide programs, and facilitated campus clean-ups.

“Being part of FFEA showed me that I can organize things, start programs, develop teams, and work together systematically with my principal and colleagues to further support our school,” she said.

The most rewarding part of her career, she said, is the ability to inspire students.

“I am a huge Polk State advocate and tell my own students about Polk State. If Polk State added a master’s program, I would sign up.”

“Being a foster kid and a single mom working at a D school with ESOL students really reaffirms for me that I am making a difference,” Ray said. “Being a D school is disheartening for the children and my goal is to keep them inspired. Just because they speak a second language doesn’t make them less than – in fact, it’s a positive.”

She instills in her students the importance of education.

“I am a huge Polk State advocate and tell my own students about Polk State,” she exclaimed. “If Polk State added a master’s program, I would sign up.”