We were lucky to catch up with Ashley Scott recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ashley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

Here are 5 things that I absolutely love about our education system. 1. The Support of School Choice, charter schools and the making of vouchers available for students to attend private schools.
2. The push for industry certifications
3. Dual Enrollment Course
4. Funding supporting the increase of school safety
5. The push to support early childhood education programs

Here are 5 things that I would change about our education system.

1. Not enough programs to support mental health and social emotional learning
2. A push for students to learn other languages at the elementary level
3. IEPs and access to students receiving therapies (funding for this perhaps private providers)
4. The removal of subgroups data and reporting on this data but very happy that this has been brought back as so that we can cross reference data support students.
5. Prepare students for real life experiences

Ashley, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Ashley has been responsible for securing over $60 million in grant funding for nearly a dozen of non-profits and businesses. The grant funding directly supports expanding health services, law enforcement services, reducing homelessness, instructional services, hiring teachers, after school tutoring, parent and family engagement, transportation, and innovative programming that directly affects the most vulnerable populations within the community.

​

Combining her expertise as a teacher and skill for planning, Ashley founded her own preschool Oxford Learning Academy which brings an innovative, data-driven approach to preschool education. Involving parents, using data to inform teacher instruction, and embedding world culture within its curriculum, Ashley prepares the next generation of leaders from their earliest days of education.

From start to finish, Ashley continues her work with non-profits and businesses to develop initiatives which impacts youth ages birth through 18 years old. She continues to serve as a well sought out consultant in Grant Writing and business development. She is also assists with project implementation and compliance.

​

She holds a bachelors and master’s degree in Criminal Justice with a focus on at risk youth. She has a second master’s in educational leadership. Ashley has served as a school district Administrator overseeing $10.8 million annually. Ashley earned certifications in K-12 Educational Leadership, K-12 ESE, Pre-K through 3rd Teacher Certification, Reading Endorsement, Pre-K with Disabilities Endorsement, Childcare Director Credential, Staff Credential, VPK Director and VPK Teacher.

​

​Ashley is a Children’s Author. She has been featured in Purpose Driven Magazine, The US Times, Stars of Entrepreneurship Magazine, and Business Shark Magazine. She is one of the Top 25 Women You Need to Know and has also been a recipient of the UnSung Hero Award.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Having been an Educational Leader at our local school district, I have always worked really hard to ensure that anything that I present is top notch. I have always understood that our teachers, staff, principals and community organizations deserve the very best. Within our community I have been able to bring so many financial resources which have generated opportunities to our local educational system and local nonprofits. In turn these entities were able to bring support services. Additionally, my close work with helping organizations to develop educational plans, activities and build out nonprofits were allow me to build relationships with the organizations that I served.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Writing grants has been a great opportunity for me. In listening to Dave Ramsey, I understood the value and utility of saving and having an additional job that would provide saving opportunities. I was able to save all of the capital from working on these projects to fund our first Preschool in cash.

Contact Info:

• Website: ashleyscottcg.com
• Instagram: thereal_ascott
• Linkedin: ashleyscottcg
• Other: instagram: @archreaders.com

Image Credits
Michael Cork requires us to give him credit for the Headshot Photo that Ashley has on with the Oxford Shirt, Blue Skirt and phone. All other photos belong to Ashley Scott and can be used.