PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — As a top-10 finalist for teacher of the year in Pinellas County, Brandy Ashby's motto is "Dream big; there are no limits!"
She's a 3rd-grade English and language arts teacher at Campbell Park Elementary School, and as we celebrate Black History Month we want to tell the stories of people in our community as they strive for excellence.
“Alright, good morning guys. Good morning," said Ms. Ashby as she greets her kids in the morning. "Today, we’re going to be focused on writing a narrative.”
That may be a challenge, but Ms. Ashby’s students are always up for the task. She taught them that.
“Giving up is not an option in my classroom. Your dreams should be as big as this world, bigger than this world," she said.
With that mindset, anything is possible. Let Alyas Lott and Aaliyah Davis tell you.
“She’s a nice teacher, and, she really helps to encourage student students," said Davis. "And she holds us accountable with what we do," said Lott.
“Who remembers this book? You remember reading this book at the beginning of the year?" asked Ms. Ashby. "What about this one?”
For 10 years, Ms. Ashby has engaged her students.
“I don’t wanna just stand behind a podium. I want to move around. I want them to be excited," she said. "I learned that from them because I have different learners, kids that learn in different ways, so that means I have to teach in different ways.”
The range is wide, and during this Black History Month and everyone to follow, she believes students should learn all history.
“We stand on the shoulders of some people that weren’t allowed to have an education, or their education was stripped from them," she said. "It’s my job. It’s my duty to make sure I educate the next generation to come."
Just like her great-grandfather taught her before he passed away at 89.
“My biggest supporter was my great grandfather, who only had a third-grade education,” she said. “He told me time and time again, school is the way, education is the way. You’ve got to go get it. Because in the end, they can’t take that away from you.”
"It kind of left it up to our imagination to decide," said Ashby as she talked to her students about a book they recently read.
The imagination it’s so wondrous— Ms. Ashby aspires to be a faculty researcher at the University level and work on research to support minority boys in literacy to foster equity.
“Because if not me, then who else? It’s my passion to educate. It’s my passion to allow my students to know that this world is big and to open their minds to whatever it is they want to do," she said. "There are no limits to the sky. We like to see the sky is the limit, but there’s no limits.”
In less than two months, more than 100 people have contacted the ABC Action News I-Team, saying they are stuck waiting on unemployment benefits and are growing more desperate by the day.
