WTOC Top Teacher: Ashley Findley

TATNALL COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - Ashley Findley says the best part of being a teacher is helping children have a good day.

“Getting to help children every day. Just being their listening ear, and making them have a good day, and put a smile on their faces,” Findley said. “That’s what it’s all about to me.”

Findley, a physical education teacher at South Tattnall Elementary School, was surprised this week when she was named WTOC’s Top Teacher.

Her volleyball players from Tattnall County High School were on hand to surprise her as she accepted the award.

Findley also coaches volleyball at the high school, where she said she focuses on teaching her players lessons that go beyond the court.

“We teach a lot of lifelong lessons. Good work ethics, being a motivator,” Findley said. “So that’s what I am trying to teach them — lifelong skills.”

Findley practices what she teaches when it comes to being a good teammate.

In addition to teaching and coaching, she helps drive school buses for student groups, including the soccer and cheerleading teams and the Beta Club.

“I try to be flexible,” Findley said. “It helps, especially when you are the one needing help. You would like for somebody to say, ‘I can help do this.’”

Her willingness to help others comes from her own experiences overcoming challenges.

Findley is a two-time breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed at age 29 and again at 40. Now 42, she has continued teaching and coaching throughout her battles with the disease.

“I’ve had it twice, when I was 29 and then at 40,” Findley said. “But I’ve been coaching and teaching ever since. Not taking any time off.”

Findley said her experiences have shaped the message she shares with her students and athletes: Keep moving forward, even when life gets difficult.

“I try to tell my girls, life keeps on going,” she said. “You can’t dig yourself a hole. You just have to keep doing your best every day.”

For Findley, being a teacher means more than what happens in a classroom or on a volleyball court. It means being someone her students can count on — and showing them what it means to be a teammate in life.