Golden Apple Award: Ashley Edwards, Ringgold Primary

RINGGOLD, GA (WDEF) – Being heard in a classroom full of kindergarteners can be a challenge. Ashley Edwards goes out of her way to make sure every student in her Ringgold Primary classroom finds their voice. That kind of dedication earned Ms. Edwards this week’s Golden Apple Award.

“Miss Edwards embodies our mission statement. Our mission statement here at Ringgold Primary School is we are learning, loving, and growing together. And our classroom is one that’s full of learning, full of love. And um our students have shown amazing growth,” Whitney Hood, Principal, Ringgold Primary School said.

“Ashley Edwards is a wife, um, a mother, a daughter, sister, a teacher, just, um, about family. I had a high school teacher who changed my life forever at Ringgold High School. So, that was always why I wanted to be here at Ringgold. I like that every day is different. I never wanted a typical nine to-five job where you come in and do the same thing over and over again,” Ashley Edwards, Kindergarten Teacher, Ringgold Primary School said.

“It’s home when you walk through the door. And I’m grateful to stay in an environment like that. And I’m grateful to work in an environment where sometimes we, we have to pause and we have to think how can we best tailor this lesson to our children of different needs. And she works her tail off to make sure each one of our children receives the lesson in a way that is susceptible to them,” Becca Liles, Kindergarten Para Professional,  Ringgold Primary School said.

“We have a wide variety of uh needs in our room and she does everything she can to make sure that our children are able to participate in our groups even when they don’t have a voice,” Liles said.

“I’ve always wanted to be a teacher since I was in kindergarten. Every day is new and different. Um we’re always on our toes. We don’t know what the day will bring, but it’s always going to be filled with love and joy and lots of laughter. And I couldn’t do it without the team that I have here in this classroom,” Edwards said.

“She builds deep relationships with her kiddos. She loves her kiddos. She meets them where they’re at. She makes sure that the whole child is taken care of. Um, and when you walk in her room, it’s evident,” Hood says.

Edwards says, “I have two kids of my own. So I always try to think to be that teacher that I would want somebody to be for my kids to make to build them comfortable and with their parents and to build that relationship from day one so that they trust me with their kids and their kids trust me every day. I want them to remember that I cared every single day and that we were a family in this classroom.”