Ashley Moore, an alumna of the class of 2021, spent her time at Winthrop working towards her degree in education.
Moore started her education at Winthrop University in 2017, majoring in English and minoring in secondary education.
After taking many of the required education classes, Moore was able to be accepted into the College of Education and begin internships. During her senior year, she completed her internship at Nation Ford High School in Fort Mill where she taught English 3 and college prep.
“My mentor teacher taught me more than anybody else has about education,” Moore said. “She was honest and did not sugarcoat what I should expect in the career field.”
These two internships were completed in the fall of 2020 and spring of 2021 when schools were going back to in-person learning after learning online due to COVID-19.
“My internship was wild because COVID was at its peak, so there were random days when we were told school would be out,” Moore said. “This helped me prepare for teaching because I learned to be flexible.”
Moore began job searching in May of 2021 before she graduated from Winthrop University.
“It was fairly easy to find applications online and complete them,” Moore said. “School districts are always posting jobs so you can begin searching earlier than May.”
The College of Education provided a day where students could meet with different representatives from schools and have interviews for different positions.
“Most of the schools being represented were in Rock Hill and Fort Mill but I was looking for different areas to teach in, so I was not able to find a job on that day,” Moore said. “It was beneficial to many others.”
EdTPA is a semester-long assignment that students in the College of Education have to complete and pass in order to get certified to teach. Because there are so many parts of the assignment, it can seem stressful and intimidating.
“EdTPA sounds scary but it is not so bad as long as you do not try to do it all at once,” Moore said. “The most frustrating part for me was deciding on which video of me teaching to send in. My advice is to make sure you get plenty of film, so you are not submitting a video you are unsure of.”
Moore currently works at Emerald High School in Greenwood, South Carolina where she teaches English 2 and English 4.
“Having my own classroom is a lot of fun but it was scary at first because I felt alone until I made a teacher friend.” Moore said. “Every teacher needs another teacher friend that they can trust and tell anything to.”
The school district where Moore teaches is on a year-round schedule. This means that they are in the classroom at least one day each month. They start school in July and have longer breaks like fall break and spring break.
“My school district is on a year-round schedule, and I love it,” Moore said. “Once we get close to a break, I can tell the kids and teachers need it.”
This year in her English classes the students will be reading “Macbeth”, “The House on Mango Street”, “Night”, and “A Modest Proposal” along with many other pieces of literature.
“Winthrop has definitely prepared me well for the job,” Moore said. “My administrators and fellow teachers have commended me for my work and have noticed that I am doing well.”
