Eighth grade teacher Ashley Hogan was named one of IPS’ two teachers of the year this month.
Working at Adelante Schools at Emma Donnan School 72, Hogan represents the district’s elementary category for the teacher of the year honor. (The other is Spanish teacher Linda Thomson.)
Hogan, 30, is a third-generation educator and just finished her seventh year teaching.
The Butler-Tarkington resident joined Mirror Indy for a Q&A about her experiences in education. Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Diving into novels in 8th grade
Question: Tell me about what you teach.
Answer: I am the eighth grade English language arts teacher, really kind of pouring in literature to our kids and giving them those reading comprehension skills.
Honestly, eighth grade has been one of my favorite years just because I can really dive into novels and literature and we have deep, rich discussions with them. For example, one of our units was ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by Shakespeare and I actually had my kids stand up and perform it as if they were in the theater in front of my classroom. I had the lights and everything ready to go.
So, it was really inspiring to see how the kids overcame their fear to even do that because we all know that Shakespearean language is not commonly used anymore and seeing that their classmates were really responsive and really respectful towards them, just seeing that and seeing them flourish was really inspirational for me.
In general, reading is a core value and need in life. It’s a bridge to other content areas and a bridge to, what I tell them, opportunities throughout their entire life. So I really make sure that I hone in on that in my classroom.
‘I come from a family of educators’
Q: What inspires you to keep teaching?
A: All I know is teaching, honestly. I come from a family of educators. My grandmother taught for 25 years, my mother served for IPS for about 15 to 20 years, I believe, and my dad retired from being a principal and actually stepped back to the classroom because he felt that retirement was getting a little bit too boring.
All I’ve known since third grade is how to be around kids and just seeing the light in their face when they understand the content or connecting things is a truly rewarding moment. I feel that is one of my purposes on this planet Earth that honestly says it’s one of my callings. I just feel that for years to come, until I retire myself, I will be an educator.
I think that these kids continuously need consistency and so having a consistent teacher in the school system and having an advocate in their corner, I think is very needed nowadays.
Q: What has your family taught you about education?
A: They definitely have said things have changed and it’s always changing. Really, they just say we don’t know where our kids come from, like their walk of life, and so the most important thing is just to always be present and show up for them out loud and have a voice in the classroom, letting them understand that they can have a trusting relationship.
I feel that when I leaned into that I noticed that my kids took more academic risks, which helped them grow academically. They’ve always said that the kids support you in a sense because they can feel that and they know that they’re feeling loved. They also said that it’s hard work but it’s, of course, artwork.
I just feel that that has stayed the same and then, of course, technology has been different but, overall, it’s the same core message of life is still there. We are there for the kids and educating our future population, and we want to have a strong foundation of scholars.
On building an inclusive classroom
Q: What does it take to create a truly equitable and inclusive classroom?
A: In my opinion, it’s the relationships that are being built. You have to know your scholars to be able to get them engaged into the classroom. You want to have an inclusive environment in which they can see themselves in the classroom.
Personally, in my own room, I have the Mexican flag, the Puerto Rican flag and the Black Lives Matter flag just because I identify with each of those, but also my school population does as well.
I’m making a really big deal to hone in famous adventurers, past presidents, anything that reflects my scholars and will let them know ‘Hey, at one point, they were in the kind of setting that you are in and see where they are now. They’ve made their own pathway.’ I’ve told them as well you can create your own pathway.
But, my biggest thing is if you don’t know your scholars, then you’re unable to give them that support and that need of belonging in the community.
‘Just love your students’
Q: We’ve only just begun to understand the impact the pandemic has had on students. What do kids need most today?
A: I truly believe that we need to be able to be more aligned as teachers. I’ve taught early childhood before, before I came up to eighth grade, and I noticed that it seemed that most of our kids weren’t proficient in the standards.
I think that more collaboration and professional development with teachers from different grade level bands (is needed) to understand what these scholars need to master for that year but also getting them ready for the next year, that way we know how to set scholars up vertically in their education career — so having more professional development with teachers to understand the standards that align throughout the kids’ educational career journey.
Q: What advice do you have for current teachers or people thinking about going into education?
A: Just love your students. It’s really about building that relationship with your students and their families. I feel that while that is a strong foundation, the opportunities are endless because then you have the collaboration not just within our own school system, but with the families as well.
If you see that students are taking control of their own learning and families are partaking in that as well, they feel included. You really see the academic growth and, not just academic, but also social and emotional development of our scholars. I feel that’s one of the things, going back to COVID, unfortunately, that they didn’t get to during that time and so, we’re trying to make up for that as well.
So, really trying to be more inclusive with that relationship with students is my biggest, honest advice I should probably give. Just know that there’s going to be days where you feel like you’re tired, but that’s only because you’re pouring so much of your love and passion into it and you’re ready to see that outcome come back.
Excitement about IPS for teachers and students
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share?
A: The changes that IPS is making (are) really beneficial for our students. The plan is truly a great foundation to see a real difference in the upcoming years with our ILEARN scores and seeing the social emotional development of our scholars coming back from the COVID pandemic.
I think that is a safe place to have your child go to because you know that every educator truly in that classroom loves their scholars and they’re wanting to be better for the scholars, but also they want to be better as teachers. It’s an amazing district. I started an IPS and will continue to be an IPS. So I’m very, very proud of IPS.
Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.
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