News

Ashton Blake is the 2023-2024 Central Middle School Teacher of the Year!

Ashton joined the team at Central in 2020. She teaches 8th grade U.S. History and also serves as the social studies lead and Bike Club sponsor.

"Middle school is a tough place! However, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. My students bring me so much joy. They teach me how to be better and just when I think I am not doing it right, they validate me by telling me how much they appreciate all I do. Teaching U.S. History in the climate we live in today can be very challenging. But as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, 'If we don't know our history, we are bound to repeat it.'"

Ashton is a graduate of Central and returned to teach there so her students would be able to see someone they could relate to, who looked like them, giving back to the community.

"Growing up in North Tulsa had its challenges, but I told myself I would never be a statistic. I have always wanted to be impactful, but I didn't know how. My mom told me I was a teacher a long time ago and I ran from that talk wondering what she saw in me that I didn't see. One thing that I do know, if something is meant to be, it will be. COVID gave me a lot of time to think, and I realized it is, for me, all about being the change that I needed and wanted to see."

Outside of work, Ashton loves to travel.

"I have been blessed to visit five countries. I am also a big foodie, so when I travel, I love to try different cultural foods."