Ashley Fryer always wanted to be a teacher.
“I was definitely one of those who played school as a kid,” said Fryer, who was named Columbia County’s Teacher of the Year Oct. 21. “I would make fake spelling tests for my sister. I’d line up all my stuffed animals and teach them and play.”
The teacher of the year honor came after months of nominations, deliberations and assessments by fellow educators, but Fryer has been putting in the work since she was very young.
Fryer has been teaching for eight years, all of them at Blue Ridge Elementary School. She said she likes to teach first grade because children are particularly eager to learn at that age and provide their teachers the opportunity to watch plenty of growth.
“They’re still very excited about learning,” she said. “Dependent on your engagement, you can make any kid excited about learning. But something with first grade, they’re just little sponges, and they’re going to reciprocate the love that you show them.”
A cornerstone of Fryer’s approach to teaching is building relationships. This entails sincere affection and letting the children know that they are cared for and appreciated. And the process, Fryer said, begins every morning.
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“I could be running around like a chicken with its head cut off, but as soon as one student walks in, I’m going to go over to him, give him a hug or a high five, and I always say, ‘I’m so glad you’re here, today,’” said Fryer. “No matter what happens, they know I’m glad that they’re here.”
For Fryer, this also means being inquisitive about the students’ lives and activities outside of school. Fryer notes her students tend to be quite responsive to opportunities to share their stories and experiences. As such, Fryer has attended plenty of ball games and birthday parties outside of school.
“That’s really special, too,” she said. “Because then I can build relationships with their parents as well.”
Fryer credits the enthusiasm of teachers she’s had throughout her schooling for helping her maintain her passion for educating. She was hired after earning her bachelor’s in early childhood education at Augusta University. She has since earned her master’s in curriculum and instruction and should complete her specialist degree in advanced educational studies in May 2022.
Fryer has engaged the challenges of juggling teaching school while returning to a classroom setting, noting the low attention span and stamina of first-graders.
“I realize that even more because my attention span is really low, too,” said Fryer. “I try to be really good with them about letting them move and having ‘brain breaks,’ but even more so, I try to home in on that because I’m even more aware of it as a student myself.”
Providing her students time and space to rest their brains and recharge their enthusiasm is a major part of her approach. Fryer sees opportunities to employ creativity in teaching. She describes how her classroom is usually rife with movement, with kids constantly up and down and there are plenty of transitions. She uses wide, elaborate hand motions and chants to help kids have fun learning new material.
“I think that’s something that’s really neat about teaching,” said Fryer. “We’re all given a curriculum to follow, but we can put our own spin on it in the style, approach and delivering the curriculum. I really think all kinds of learning really connects. Somehow, someway they’re going to get the way that they need to learn.”
Fryer was born in California, and as a military brat had lived in Okinawa, Japan before her family settled in Columbia County when she was in fifth grade. She considers the county her home and has a special appreciation for her colleagues. She said she was “shocked, humbled, honored” to have even been considered a finalist for Teacher of the Year, and to have been so highly regarded by peers.
“Teaching is very much a ‘we’ profession,” said Fryer. “It’s like a family here. There’s not holding back. We’re constantly collaborating and sharing ideas. It’s just really good working in such a good community and environment. So the fact that they recognized that in me just really meant a lot.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering Columbia County with The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
