Name: Ashlee Sloan

**Family: ** Husband, Brandon, and daughter Emerson (2 years old)

School: Emilie J. Ross Middle School

Position: Art and yearbook teacher

Experience and education: Bachelor’s degree in art studio, single subject teaching credential in art and master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. I recently was teaching at Whitmore Charter in Ceres and I am entering into my sixth year of teaching. So excited for new challenges!

What attracted you to Hughson? I would love to be able to make a difference in the lives of students in my community that I live and work in and the schools that my child will be attending in the future. I would also love for our students to be involved in bringing more art to the community.

What most inspires you about what you do? I am inspired daily by student growth and achievement. It is so incredible to see where students begin in their skills at the beginning of the year in comparison to how much they have grown as an artist at the end of the year.

What is a challenge you look forward to tackling this year? I am really looking forward to managing a group of yearbook students to produce and distribute a book of memories they will keep for years to come.

What is your favorite teaching tool or activity? My favorite teaching activity is group artwork critiques! It’s really exciting to see students receive positive feedback on their artwork and feel accomplished.

What do you want your students to remember? I want my students to remember that I care for each and every single one of them. I want them to remember how much I pushed them to be the best version of themselves and that I am never looking for perfection, I am looking for their “perfect effort.”

How can parents support what you do? Ask your students about their artwork! Ask how they made it, what they enjoyed throughout the process, ask what challenged them and display their pieces! Students spend countless hours on these works of art and you would be amazed at how prideful they are to see their artwork displayed and enjoyed.

What would surprise people about your job? I think a lot of times people think art is the class where students get to play with materials and very little learning happens, but in actuality I like to believe “creativity is intelligence having fun.” We do learn a lot all year, but also have a lot of fun in the process.

What do you do for fun? My energizer bunny toddler really keeps me on my toes at all times. When I’m not creating art with her, our family loves enjoying the outdoors, whether we are exercising, working in our garden or barbecuing!