Creativity is [about] connecting things.  –Steve Jobs

Director of Auxiliary Programs/Extended Day and Technology Teacher Ashlea Howard has spent her entire life in education and says that, along the way, she has enjoyed learning to “think on my feet and be creative.” Steeped in Head Start, professional child care, and Girl Scouts, programs in which her closest relatives taught, and in which she herself participated, she honed early the skills she uses to this day. “We went camping, learned to tie knots, learned survival skills…At the same time, we were learning relationship skills, how to get along with others, and how to be inventive,” she says, adding, “Nowadays, I enjoy painting, drawing, and crafts, and using my creativity to design classes and build the technology curriculum around each grade’s classroom studies.”

Ms. Howard’s early studies included participation in a Spanish immersion program from Grade 2. In college, she pursued an interdisciplinary college degree leading to a Bachelor of Science in Human Resources Management from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. The coursework included  Spanish language and Latin American Studies classes at the Universidad de Guadalajara. She has been a camp counselor and a nanny, and a classroom and community educator. Her continuing development has included teaching the Reggio Method, whose philosophy focuses on children developing self-sufficiency and confidence; serving as a communication bridge between parents and school personnel; and managing technology projects for community organizations. What she loves best about working with students, she says, is “their fresh perspective, and watching them grow as unique individuals.”