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We're chatting about the people, places, events, and flavors that make Johnson City, Tennessee a lovely place to live. An interview show hosted by Colin Johnson.
Proud member of the Maypop Media family of podcasts.
0:00:00 - (Colin Johnson): It is a beautiful August day here. Kids are moving into school. We just moved our son Christian in and we are excited to have school back in. And we're excited to be having the folks from Ashley Academy on the podcast today. And I guess school just started for you guys, right?
0:00:17 - (Julianne Hurst): It did.
0:00:17 - (Ramona Harr): We actually a week. So we started last Tuesday was our first. We were a little delayed from the area schools.
0:00:23 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah. Well, Julianne Hirsch and Ramona Har, you guys are with Ashley Academy. Tell me your roles there and what you guys do at Ashley Academy.
0:00:30 - (Ramona Harr): I'm the head of school, which I think from a principal perspective for those who would be in a public setting. So just the leadership role in working with the teachers students as well.
0:00:42 - (Julianne Hurst): And I handle director of enrollment and advancement. So meeting new families, bringing them in for tours, raising funds for the school, and for specific projects for our school.
0:00:54 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, well, we were talking a little bit before we got started. Cause I know National Academy has been around for a long time, but when you said 46 years, I was like, wow, that's a long time. That's exciting.
0:01:05 - (Ramona Harr): Yes, it is. Yes, it is. And we've certainly appreciated just even the start of the school. So it was just a family in the area that doctor Dean and Janine Wilson and had a vision of wanting to offer enrichment in the area. And so they initiated it. Now we're here 46 years later.
0:01:22 - (Colin Johnson): That's super cool. Super cool. How many kids go to school there?
0:01:25 - (Ramona Harr): Right? 174.
0:01:28 - (Colin Johnson): We gotta know the number. Cause if it's 173, we're missing one.
0:01:32 - (Julianne Hurst): That's right.
0:01:32 - (Ramona Harr): We gotta find. Which would be a record for the school. So we start with two years of age going into now adding 9th grade. So we're starting high school.
0:01:44 - (Colin Johnson): So did you say you can start at two?
0:01:46 - (Ramona Harr): At two years of age?
0:01:47 - (Colin Johnson): That's awesome.
0:01:47 - (Julianne Hurst): Yes.
0:01:48 - (Colin Johnson): And then you're going all the way to 9th grade.
0:01:49 - (Ramona Harr): Yes.
0:01:50 - (Colin Johnson): Gotcha. What? Typically, where do kids funnel out after 9th grade? Typically with y'all.
0:01:54 - (Julianne Hurst): Actually they will can stay. So this is our first year with 9th grade. We'll add 10th next year, 11th and 12th.
0:02:00 - (Colin Johnson): So we're going the whole way.
0:02:01 - (Julianne Hurst): We're going the whole way.
0:02:02 - (Colin Johnson): And I think you said too, you're thinking about a daycare program too. So we'll go birth to graduation.
0:02:08 - (Julianne Hurst): That's the plan.
0:02:09 - (Colin Johnson): I like it. There you go. Well, it's a good feeder system, right? You're already here. You might as well just keep going to school here.
0:02:14 - (Julianne Hurst): That's right.
0:02:14 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah. I love it. I love it. All right. Johnson City living. I don't know if you've listened to the podcast, am I gonna put you on the spot and hear that? But what do you love most about Johnson city? Julianne, go first.
0:02:25 - (Julianne Hurst): Gosh. Well, I've lived here now eleven years just in the area, so transplant before everyone else transplanted here. I just love the community feel. I've just really loved getting to know the people here. Coming to a place where we didn't have family or anything and we moved here just how we just like were able to dive into the community. Ashley Academy was part of that, that's where our son went and they became our family.
0:02:53 - (Julianne Hurst): And so I think we just have really loved being here and we just have a really great support system now with friends and the school. And so I think for us, that's just what I love about the Johnson City community.
0:03:06 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, I think I hear that over and over and over. That's our top answer. We just heard it on Alaska. How about you?
0:03:12 - (Ramona Harr): I live in Bristol and so it's really. Even though it can be a drive coming back and back.
0:03:17 - (Colin Johnson): Ramona, I can help you with that drive. I get rid of that, I'll cut that out, save you an hour a day.
0:03:24 - (Ramona Harr): That would be, you know, maybe a conversation. But my husband.
0:03:27 - (Colin Johnson): No pressure, no pressure.
0:03:28 - (Ramona Harr): And my husband calls himself geographically challenged, that we kind of have family that's live together. So, sorry, but it's a good, good option, I'll put you in mind. So for the opportunity of being able to drive. I love the diversity in Johnson City and I think that it works well for a work, a home. Right. That I spend a lot of time. But the diversity from the medical school for the ETSU, just how it's growing, even downtown, just have thoroughly enjoyed getting to appreciate this part of our area.
0:04:04 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, I think. And a lot of people are surprised, you know, I think, I don't know, you know, historically, maybe, oh, Tennessee, we, you know, we wear overalls and, you know, don't know anything, but the area is really, like you said, diverse. And the cultural opportunities here and the med school brings in a lot, the university brings in a lot, the VA is a big part of that and that's. Yeah, and so we've got just a wonderful community that's got a lot of great people in it and it's thriving and growing. And I'm sure you're seeing lots of new families moving in. I know, I know we're bringing in lots of new people, so, yeah, that's pretty cool. And that's going to only continue to grow and do that. And so, and you're teaching kids all about awesome stuff at your school too.
0:04:47 - (Ramona Harr): Yeah. Well, and I think that that's the part of the diversity, even for Ashley Academy. So we very, you know, welcoming to families from international as well as local. And it's a great learning experience. So we do enjoy having everyone as a part of our school, but it's back to whether you're doing art or you have your pe, you have, you know, just the creative side we call applied learning. But we're learning to be thinkers and it's really important for us to problem solve.
0:05:16 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, well, that was going to be my next question. Like, if your kids are at public school and you're like, you know, we're thinking about making a change or some reason, tell me why you could be. This is just a softball question for you guys, why you would go to Ashley Academy. What's great about it? What do you all do best?
0:05:33 - (Julianne Hurst): Well, I think, and I can speak from personality.
0:05:36 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, because you've got kids there. That's right.
0:05:38 - (Julianne Hurst): Before I even was employed, there was a parent and had kids. So for me, what I really enjoyed was developing my oldest, now who's in college, into like a critical thinker, not just a test taker filling in the bubbles. He was able to develop those critical thinking skills outside of the box thinking that like, and it's not just an ABCD answer, maybe it's something else, maybe there's an ethical answer.
0:06:05 - (Julianne Hurst): And so I think that's an important skill to have in life as you learn to question and dive deeper into subjects. And maybe the answer you see, maybe that's not the real answer you need to investigate further. So for me, I just have enjoyed watching my kids being able to just expand beyond just the test taking and just be excited about learning. I mean, they have just enjoyed learning and excited about school.
0:06:37 - (Julianne Hurst): They don't fuss too much about, you know, going, yeah.
0:06:40 - (Colin Johnson): Cause it's fun. You enjoy learning, you make learning fun, then they're gonna want more of that. Right?
0:06:46 - (Ramona Harr): And we always offer just even. Our tagline is developing scholars, innovators, leaders. So as Julianne was mentioning, you want to develop those innovative individuals who are willing to critically think. Covid. A perfect example of a problem. We didn't know what to do with it, so we had to adapt very quickly. And you need people to keep their heads about them. There's also an aspect that we work very hard and that's the leadership area.
0:07:09 - (Ramona Harr): And leadership is, we're reminding our students is not about that. You're going to be up in front of a large group of people to present, but it really is about acknowledging that there's a need in your community and a leader takes action. You got to do it. Whatever simple act it may be, you make a difference, and we expect that first.
0:07:28 - (Colin Johnson): That's pretty cool. Yeah, I think that's fun. Would you call it the classical model, since you're teaching people to kids, learn to love reading or learning or.
0:07:36 - (Ramona Harr): No, no.
0:07:38 - (Colin Johnson): Gotcha.
0:07:38 - (Ramona Harr): That's more of very hands on. The historical side of Ashley Academy is it was Montessori background. So whenever it started, the challenge became whenever we were unable to find teachers who were certified to be classified as Montessori. But what didn't change was the hands on component. So we're very involved to say what we're learning in the classroom. How can we produce that? For example, we'll study Jamestown. Well, the students build Jamestown, so they have a fort and they cook outdoors, but it's reminding them what it was to be those early settlers.
0:08:11 - (Ramona Harr): Whenever we're talking about gym mine, well, they built a gym mine, and they had the kids kind of an immersive experience.
0:08:21 - (Julianne Hurst): Buy the bags.
0:08:23 - (Ramona Harr): So we wanted them to be able to appreciate and learn through doing.
0:08:28 - (Colin Johnson): Yes, I think that's cool. As opposed to just memorizing and no fun. Taking the fun out of it. Yes, taking the fun out of it. Tell me about how you guys did over Covid. Cause I know that was probably tough.
0:08:40 - (Ramona Harr): Yeah. You know, it was a very tough time for everyone in the area, not just for us. It was an interesting time because the start of 2020 is whenever we made the decision that we were going to purchase the building and move to the south row side of things. March happened, and that's when, you know, everybody kind of shut down with the schools, and you're thinking, oh, my goodness, now we have a new building, and what's going to happen with, especially private education?
0:09:04 - (Ramona Harr): What does that look like for us? And to be honest, in hindsight, that was honestly our savior. We in the knob Creek location wouldn't have had the space to be able to spread out once we started. We did start a month late, but we were in school full session. We worked enough space to separate the students. Teachers were great about accommodating. We built some dividers and separators between them and kind of scheduled a little bit about where they changed throughout the building.
0:09:36 - (Ramona Harr): But it really was life saving for us. So we did survive and thrived, actually, simply because we stayed in session the whole time, grateful for our parents were appreciative of that. Just a wonderful team of individuals who stuck to it and kept it moving forward.
0:09:52 - (Colin Johnson): I love it. Yeah, I love it. Yeah. Tell me something you guys love most about your jobs at Ashley Academy. I know being a principal is a lot like, I have a buddy who was a principal for a long time and poor. I mean, you guys are just, I mean, unbelievable. What you have to deal with is like, you don't even know. The people listening don't know unless you're in there.
0:10:17 - (Ramona Harr): You're exactly right.
0:10:18 - (Colin Johnson): So thank you for all you do.
0:10:20 - (Julianne Hurst): Yeah, thank you for sure. I appreciate that. She captains the ship.
0:10:25 - (Colin Johnson): Well, yeah, you got 174 children. You've got how many teachers that you're helping?
0:10:29 - (Ramona Harr): Everybody.
0:10:30 - (Colin Johnson): 33.
0:10:30 - (Ramona Harr): 33.
0:10:31 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah. I mean, you've got a big team there. That's a lot to take care of.
0:10:35 - (Ramona Harr): It is a whole lot. And yet the fun part, and I think that that's part reminds me of why I do what I do. Because I'm a teacher and somehow ended up in administration. That was not necessarily my job. Math is my background. And so today was a perfect example that there was a student in the hallway and she was talking about, hey, how was your day? It was, you know, she was talking about this great day, but, oh, I've got to do math. I've got math homework and just like, I can help you with math.
0:11:02 - (Ramona Harr): And in fact, for that moment, I thought as challenging it was, I know how to handle this. Those are problems I can address versus what you can encounter on a day to day basis. So working with the children and just, you know, seeing their excitement and just, they give you energy and so that's always been the reason why I'm in education and, yeah, so that's how I get my happy thoughts and pill for the day to kind of keep going and come back the next thing for sure.
0:11:29 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah.
0:11:29 - (Ramona Harr): So, absolutely.
0:11:31 - (Julianne Hurst): For me, what I love is I love the team. I just think it's just a cool, collaborative environment to be in. And so I don't have an education background, so I more, I was real estate actually, for 17 years, years before this.
0:11:47 - (Colin Johnson): Nice.
0:11:47 - (Julianne Hurst): And so I think for me, I just really love all the different ideas that kind of come in, but for some reason, it all works with us together because someone's like, how about this? Oh, yeah, we can do this. I love the collaboration of everybody and how we all just really gel and work so well together because then we all see what's the end goal, you know, and I think that's such a cool environment because you don't get that everywhere where everyone is kind of knows where we're headed and we're doing it together. Yeah, I think that's so fun.
0:12:20 - (Colin Johnson): That is fun. Then you get the parents collaborating and it just.
0:12:23 - (Ramona Harr): Yeah, well, and I think that that's what we try to teach the students and we demonstrate that just through our activities as the team from the administrative role, but that of the teachers and how we all work together to kind of come up with a plan. And you're right. I mean, just throwing that out can be really fun. Now we can get some crazy ideas.
0:12:40 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah.
0:12:40 - (Ramona Harr): And it's like, how did we get to this point? And we love it, but. But that's a wonderful team.
0:12:45 - (Colin Johnson): Right.
0:12:45 - (Ramona Harr): They can come up with a lot of different, diverse ideas.
0:12:48 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah. What's going. And then unfortunately, you have to go, well, that's not our best idea.
0:12:54 - (Julianne Hurst): Well, no, let's not say that we have somebody else that's our, like, little, like, person on her shoulder.
0:13:01 - (Ramona Harr): Maybe not hack off just a little bit.
0:13:04 - (Colin Johnson): So.
0:13:04 - (Julianne Hurst): Yes.
0:13:05 - (Ramona Harr): Those individuals of reason.
0:13:06 - (Julianne Hurst): Yeah.
0:13:07 - (Ramona Harr): And it's not always the head of school.
0:13:10 - (Colin Johnson): That's good. That's good sometimes. Yeah, that's good. That's hilarious. Now, is it? Bored, right? Do you guys have a board that oversees the school?
0:13:17 - (Ramona Harr): Yeah, exactly. So we do have a board that I report to. And so they help us with the vision, you know, the long term direction of the school. For example, purchasing a building and saying that this is ready for us to move forward. Absolutely.
0:13:30 - (Colin Johnson): And you told me you went from how many square feet to how many square feet?
0:13:32 - (Ramona Harr): 12,000.
0:13:36 - (Colin Johnson): That's a lot.
0:13:37 - (Ramona Harr): Yeah. We laugh about just. And we would love for you to come and visit sometime at the.
0:13:42 - (Colin Johnson): Yes, ma'am, I'd love for you.
0:13:43 - (Ramona Harr): But when you see our auditorium, what we had at Knob Creek, everything in the auditorium.
0:13:48 - (Colin Johnson): Auditorium.
0:13:49 - (Ramona Harr): And we laugh about that now and, like, how are we going to fill this place up? And now we're, you know, we've had some construction this year to make some larger rooms, but then, you know, we're working on that next level, so we've quickly filled it up. But yes, no, the picture of that scene was hilarious to think, okay, this was us, and now we're here.
0:14:11 - (Colin Johnson): Right. So what do you. What does the vision look like going forward? I know you're adding high school. Are you gonna have to build on and do some other stuff to expand to handle all that? Hopefully, I guess.
0:14:22 - (Ramona Harr): Right, well, we actually have a section of 14,000 sqft that we've dedicated for our early childhood learning center. So we want to make sure for the need in our community for childcare. But you know, for our early childhood center, it is the fact of you're also getting PE, you're getting cooking class, you're getting art class, you're getting music class in addition to the day to day teaching, academic learn by doing event. And so that's important. And then there's a section dedicated to where we're working for the high school that's building onto it. So that would be the goal to kind of get ourselves from that two year old through 12th grade.
0:15:03 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, that's fine.
0:15:05 - (Julianne Hurst): And to piggyback on the early childhood, that's a big goal for us because we just expanded. It's a twelve month program now, so we actually, they've been in session since June. It's a 730 to 530 program. So just to accommodate families that are working, that need, that quality care for the kids.
0:15:25 - (Colin Johnson): Are you guys year round?
0:15:27 - (Ramona Harr): We are not just our pre K program.
0:15:30 - (Colin Johnson): Pre kilowatt.
0:15:31 - (Ramona Harr): Yes. And then we do, we do have summer programs that are going on for the k to 8th grade, but four classes start from August till May.
0:15:40 - (Colin Johnson): That's cool.
0:15:40 - (Ramona Harr): So good time.
0:15:43 - (Colin Johnson): Tell me a little bit about your background. You said you were a teacher. Where'd you grow up?
0:15:46 - (Ramona Harr): Yeah, well, I would have originally from West Virginia, but would have when my family moved to the Tennessee area, I was in high school, so I went to East High school.
0:15:57 - (Colin Johnson): My wife went to east.
0:15:58 - (Ramona Harr): Yeah, there you go. I played basketball there and then ended up teaching again, math. Secondary education was my background. So taught there, coached basketball for a while and then became a mother. And then from there, that's how I got into the independent school experience. I taught with a school, private school in Bristol and was there for several years and then just changed and came to actually academy. So over 30 years of education, but working with elementary through and even taught some at Northeast State, so kind of into the college level as well, but finding that connection mathematically. But overall, the experience of learning and figuring out what developmentally changes from grade level to grade level, it's been fun.
0:16:46 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, that is cool. It's neat to watch. You know, looking back, you're like, oh, there's a hand in all this. Here I am, you know, and this is kind of fun.
0:16:55 - (Julianne Hurst): I grew up an hour outside of Chicago, okay? So don't hold that against me.
0:17:02 - (Colin Johnson): I do not, I do not moved.
0:17:04 - (Julianne Hurst): Here about eleven years ago.
0:17:05 - (Colin Johnson): You're not still there?
0:17:06 - (Julianne Hurst): You are still not there. Moved here about eleven years ago and so continued working from home. I worked in real estate transaction and marketing. Did that from home again before it was cool for everybody else to work from home. And so had loved that 17 years I did that and that was great. And then I was helping the school do some things. Cause we just, you know, get in love the school. And then I get a phone call like, hey.
0:17:37 - (Colin Johnson): Yep.
0:17:38 - (Julianne Hurst): Would you be interested?
0:17:39 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, let's talk more about it.
0:17:43 - (Julianne Hurst): Yeah, so that's. That's pretty much here. So, yeah, we just. We have loved living here. I mean, it's just like I said, there's no place like it. And just have happy to.
0:17:55 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, we. We were a part of the private school, providence, and it's just like a big family, you know, and like. And so tell me some of the things that you guys do that are not just school, right? You have like festivals and do kind of all kinds of stuff around the school. Tell like, our listeners might be interested in some of those things that you offer as well, that kind of bring the whole thing together, right. The parents and students and teachers and all that stuff all the time.
0:18:19 - (Ramona Harr): Think for that we have fall festivals. We would have an auction. There are some actually community events that we would have at school. One of the things that we do even for South Rim business owners. So we have monthly meetings for just the businesses in the area, trying to unite them and to do positive things on the South Rhone side. So we want to give to the community work and actually did quite a bit and still do with Tipton Haynes during COVID time.
0:18:45 - (Ramona Harr): That was our community service. We went over and replaced a lot of their folks and things like that, making sure that they were still giving back.
0:18:52 - (Colin Johnson): I remember going there as a kid and a parent and I drove by there the other day and they're out there playing war or whatever.
0:18:58 - (Ramona Harr): Exactly, exactly.
0:18:59 - (Colin Johnson): It's really fun.
0:19:00 - (Ramona Harr): So we also want to make sure that our field and area is used by some of the local soccer teams so that, you know, we allow them to kind of work. So those would be things beyond the school where we want to offer community outreach, able to share, but guess book fairs and other things.
0:19:18 - (Julianne Hurst): And I think the other part is just, we want our families involved. I think that's important. I think sometimes, you know, you send your kid to school and you're like, that's it. But we. It's important for us, our families to be involved in the school. I mean, that we couldn't thrive without them. We look for them as volunteers. Like, if they have connections to the community, we. Does somebody know how to do this?
0:19:42 - (Julianne Hurst): So I think for us, it's important to have them involved because we couldn't do a lot of things we do without them, and we welcome them through our doors, and we love knowing them by name. How are you? And it's fun that you get to really know your families. And I think that also helps with the kids. Like, hey, if they're having a bad day, it's such a cool way to be in a school community that I don't think you would get everywhere.
0:20:10 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah. Yeah. It is special, and it's a little more intimate because what are class sizes like?
0:20:15 - (Ramona Harr): Yeah, well, 15 is our max. 15, that's it.
0:20:19 - (Colin Johnson): We cut it off.
0:20:20 - (Ramona Harr): Yep, exactly. We do. And I think that that's for that very purpose of giving the individual attention. Sure. As needed and able to share. So I think that that's why we work really hard to maintain that code for the closest. And I think that, you know, as we did mention about with the leadership and that character and background side, you're teaching them to be scholars, but it's really important for us to build individuals.
0:20:42 - (Ramona Harr): And I think that all of us feel that, you know, we're teachers because we don't want to just teach. I don't want to just teach math. You want to teach how to be a good person. How do you become a good leader while you're doing math and while you learn to work hard and stick with it and don't give up on the answer on the work, because that's what life is about.
0:21:01 - (Colin Johnson): Right.
0:21:01 - (Ramona Harr): So teaching them how to deal with problems is important for us and as well, find value in who you are as a person.
0:21:08 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, it's tough. It's almost like parenting. Right. And you guys have the kids more, almost sometimes, than your parents. And so, yeah, you've got a lot of work ahead of you for each one of them, and it's a big responsibility. So thank you for it. Sounds like you embrace that very heavily and not just take it very lightly or anything like that.
0:21:30 - (Ramona Harr): And graduation's that way. Cause whenever they do graduate, you kind.
0:21:33 - (Colin Johnson): Of feel you're like, I'm losing a kid. Yeah.
0:21:35 - (Ramona Harr): I mean, it's. You hope. And frequently they'll stop by and check in from time to time how they're doing. But, yes, you do feel like you're losing part of your family.
0:21:43 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah. Yeah, I bet it is sad and special. Then you get to watch them go.
0:21:47 - (Julianne Hurst): On and you're like, oh, yeah, that's confident.
0:21:50 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah. Talk about them. Do you offer sports opportunities there for some of the people who are listening? You might be like, my kid plays soccer, and I want to, you know, because you did mention soccer.
0:21:59 - (Ramona Harr): Yeah.
0:21:59 - (Colin Johnson): What are some of the sports that they can play at Ashley county?
0:22:01 - (Ramona Harr): Sports that we have and we co op with from the area schools. So we do have football, volleyball, basketball for girls and boys, baseball. We have the swim team. We worked with an indoor soccer team. So trying to get through the list and club opportunities for those who aren't quite ready to take on the competitive spirit that might happen on a yemenite, a serious team. But I want to learn this for you that aren't, like, super competitive.
0:22:35 - (Ramona Harr): And my background, I had played in college and in high school for basketball. So the value of sports is extremely important. It teaches you about discipline and teamwork and collaboration and all that together. You need one another. So we got to make sure that they have that opportunity, too. Live and learn, right?
0:22:55 - (Colin Johnson): Not everybody gets a trophy, maybe.
0:22:58 - (Ramona Harr): Exactly. No, please. They do not. Because, yes, you're terrible.
0:23:02 - (Colin Johnson): You don't get a trophy. Sorry, Johnny, but you're great at art, whatever it might be. You've got your own gift.
0:23:08 - (Ramona Harr): There's other areas that you're good at.
0:23:10 - (Colin Johnson): That's exactly right. We're going to focus on those.
0:23:12 - (Julianne Hurst): Well, and I think, too, with the sports, talking about something that we're looking at this year is trying to start sports as a younger age, is just building the foundation to see what they're interested in. That's what we were talking about with the clubs and, like, introducing different sports throughout the year for our younger students to see. Hey, you have an interest without that commitment of being competitive and stuff, just to get an introduction to it.
0:23:35 - (Colin Johnson): Do you even feel like this is something you want to pursue?
0:23:37 - (Julianne Hurst): Yeah. And I think that's just important to expose them to different activities and outside of, you know, just what they're doing in the classroom.
0:23:47 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah. Because, I mean, if you don't ever play hockey, like, in Chicago.
0:23:51 - (Julianne Hurst): Yeah.
0:23:52 - (Colin Johnson): You're never gonna know. Like, you don't even pick up a bucket. You're never gonna know. Right. Just kinda give it a shot.
0:23:56 - (Ramona Harr): Yeah. Yeah. So sometimes just good to know about the rules and how to play the game that can help you as you become older and you're working from a business perspective and why you would say, hey, let's play golf, you know, those are opportunities that you can learn, but it's also leadership role that you can connect with others. Right.
0:24:14 - (Colin Johnson): What are some of the things. Let's talk more about the leadership part of it. How do you develop the kids into leaders that are going to be, hopefully great influencers in our area, maybe, and in the world, what's kind of that thought process and how you go about that?
0:24:30 - (Ramona Harr): Well, part of that connection is just making sure even in school, so our older students are working with the younger students.
0:24:37 - (Colin Johnson): That's cool.
0:24:38 - (Ramona Harr): We have house system, so we would call it Griffin buddies, Griffin code. And so we work with the older and the younger students together so that they help them with different activities. But we also have some of our older students breaking down to do volunteer work, whether it's at lunch and helping to serve there. They're working in the office, they're answering. So internally, we try to find roles for them to fulfill as leader in how you communicate with others and responsibility in showing up.
0:25:08 - (Ramona Harr): So that would be one of the specific ways we do it internally.
0:25:11 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, I remember being a. We called it teachers aides, but I remember being a first grade teacher's aid when I was in high school. I went to university high. Kind of similar size. Very small.
0:25:21 - (Ramona Harr): Absolutely.
0:25:21 - (Colin Johnson): But it was cool because my brother was four years behind me, my sister was like seven, and then, so I was in the first grade. So literally, I knew every single person in the school. I was a senior. And so I bet that feeling is probably at your school, too. Like, I bet everybody knows everybody.
0:25:36 - (Ramona Harr): Yes. Yeah.
0:25:36 - (Colin Johnson): Which is really kind of cool. It provides that family feeling. And I'm sure the. The bigger kids are watching out for the little ones.
0:25:45 - (Julianne Hurst): We have safety patrols, so we have our older students, and with our pre K program, they're down there, and it's so fun to see those little pre k ers have their people, you know, the 6th grader is their fate. Okay, you need to come get little Suzie because she doesn't want to go, but you can get her to go. So, like, you come get her and take her to class. So it's really fun to see them. They embrace that. They love that. Like, wow. You know, I'm important in helping in this area, so it's fun to see.
0:26:18 - (Ramona Harr): And we also, we have weekly assemblies. So there's the one time when we as a school come together fully and, you know, we celebrate successes of the students, but each class is. They have to sign up for presentation, so you want to work on that. Public speaking. There's a topic, but they're standing up in front of a group of individuals, so we want to make sure that they're comfortable with handling that. So that's another area of, you know, I think that's learning to address with the, with the crowd.
0:26:47 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah.
0:26:48 - (Ramona Harr): Because even though you don't have that, you don't.
0:26:49 - (Colin Johnson): It's a little bit of a different game. Right. I mean, you're like, oh, you're doing good in front of your ten friends or whatever, but you get a hundred. It's like, okay, let's do this. Let's do this. What's something that I haven't asked you? You're like, hey, you should. We should definitely tell you this about Ashley.
0:27:07 - (Ramona Harr): Talk.
0:27:07 - (Julianne Hurst): Let's talk a little bit about the upper school high school program because it's a little bit different than what traditional high school any of us probably would have known.
0:27:18 - (Ramona Harr): So for our, like, you don't get.
0:27:19 - (Colin Johnson): Shoved in a locker or anything.
0:27:21 - (Ramona Harr): Well, our locker, it hasn't happened.
0:27:27 - (Colin Johnson): Maybe that was just somebody else's high.
0:27:29 - (Ramona Harr): School experience, but what we want is actually having the academic standards, but it's giving the students the opportunity to figure out whether they do a college preparatory or if they're ready to go into a profession. And so along with the credits that's required through the state of Tennessee, and they'll fulfill that. But it's also, we have a pathway program, and the pathway is that each quarter they're having an opportunity to experience different professions and to say, is this something that I'm interested in? So even for our 9th and 10th graders, even though they're unable to drive yet, but we're going to give them an opportunity for business. So they're working our accounting office, we have a Griffin gear store that we're starting up so that they're dealing with inventory and cash, and that's cool.
0:28:16 - (Ramona Harr): Receptionist answering the phone, being in the classroom with the teachers, being an aide. Do you want to work with children? So we certainly, but then beyond that, we're expressing art. So if I have students, we're connecting them with local business owners to say, can this person, in a sense, shadow you to see what it is in this profession so that they're able to see if this is something that they would really want to go into. So by the time they would graduate, as seniors ready to go to college, if that's a choice, they have an idea about what they want to do and what they don't want to do, so we help with them. And so that's kind of our go back to the leadership role, figuring out who you are, that self awareness and, you know, that emotional intelligence. I can react and respond without overreacting.
0:29:03 - (Colin Johnson): To things I think that's a huge one. I mean, we study emotional intelligence and eq in our realm a lot because it's just really can get you into somebody's heart, you know, and that's where they're really trying. You really want to just connect with people. And I think that's everybody wants to be seen and heard, and I think that's a huge skill. So that's cool that you're teaching that.
0:29:26 - (Ramona Harr): And we work with and remind teachers the same way about knowing our students. And that's not just we know their name, but it is what would be what makes them scared, what's fearful. So what do they need to work on cognitively? How are they thinking? And how can we encourage them to think outside the box a little bit more socially? They're not getting along with others. How do you help them adapt and make those changes? So it's really being invaluable to know who the student is. So it's not just about a reading score, how much math that they can do.
0:29:59 - (Colin Johnson): That's cool.
0:29:59 - (Ramona Harr): Yeah.
0:30:00 - (Colin Johnson): It'll be neat to see how you guys continue to develop that. And not everybody wants to go to college, you know, and so, like, I think, and nowadays, man, you can do way better by not going to college. And you're not, as in debt and you're making money faster and. Yeah, and we need lots of unbelievable trades people around, too, that can build houses and. Yeah.
0:30:19 - (Julianne Hurst): And I think that's part of this. This is giving the students the opportunity. Maybe they do want to go into trades. And I think it's, you know, instead of saying, oh, I have to go to college. Well, maybe let's figure it out now. Maybe that's not the path you want to take, and that's okay. And so we're. It's an.
0:30:37 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, because in our era, you know, our era, you were. We would go to college and you automatically get a job. Yeah. And now you're seeing that's just kind of like, yeah, that's more like a high school degree.
0:30:47 - (Julianne Hurst): Right.
0:30:48 - (Colin Johnson): And even now, if you get a master's, maybe, but then you still kind of got to keep going.
0:30:53 - (Julianne Hurst): Yeah.
0:30:53 - (Ramona Harr): And then you may have the debt. Right?
0:30:56 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah. That is looking at me like, yeah, we got like $200,000 we got to pay off. That's not good. You know, and then you're like, really? And you're not going to pay me that when I work at Ashley Academy as a teacher. Right.
0:31:07 - (Ramona Harr): Left to. And you deserve it. But no, I'm sorry. Yes, it's well deserved. It's just not something we're able to right.
0:31:16 - (Colin Johnson): What you're gonna do is eat lima beans for the next ten years and you'll be in. You'll be okay.
0:31:21 - (Ramona Harr): Yeah, exactly.
0:31:23 - (Colin Johnson): Maybe, maybe we'll see. Depends on if y'all live in Bristol and gas is killed. They're trying to get there every day.
0:31:28 - (Julianne Hurst): There you go.
0:31:30 - (Colin Johnson): Talk to the listeners on how they can connect, find more information, come get a tour, maybe with Julianna.
0:31:37 - (Julianne Hurst): Sure. You can visit ashleyacademy.com and you can fill out an inquiry there. I'll get that and reach out to you. Of course you can call us. So 423-92-9788 set up a tour. Come visit us. Love bringing people through our school. Teachers love it. I mean, they are used to me, like, barging in their classrooms. And it's great to share what we do with the community. And when people come for a tour, I always laugh, they always say, everyone is so nice here. And I'm like, yeah, we all are deaf.
0:32:12 - (Colin Johnson): We're kind of excited to be here. We're not like, yeah, exactly. I drove all the way from Brisbane.
0:32:18 - (Julianne Hurst): So yes, come visit us. Take a tour again. We two years old through 9th. Next year will be 10th. So absolutely. Come see what we're about.
0:32:28 - (Colin Johnson): That's exciting. Yeah, yeah.
0:32:29 - (Ramona Harr): Well, and I tossed in one final thing. Bring it kind of closing.
0:32:33 - (Colin Johnson): And one is that floor.
0:32:35 - (Ramona Harr): Oh, is our mascot. And so our mascot is the Griffin. Right. And it's not because of famous literature and all of that, it really is about the mythical creature, but what it represents. And so for us, the upper half, which is an eagle, key of the birds. But an eagle and its characteristics is that it has vision and it sees wide and long. When you're looking off the hindsight, it is a lion known for its bravery and courage.
0:33:02 - (Ramona Harr): And so our goal is always to remind the students, make sure that you have vision, you're looking wide and long and it's going to take a lot of courage to take that on and make sure it gets completed. So that's really important for us to remember that we're the Griffins and vision and courageous.
0:33:18 - (Colin Johnson): I love it. That's a great, great ending for our podcast. Sometimes I hit people with speed rounds and we got somebody from Bristol. So it's good that you live in Bristol. Real quick, real fast. Where are you getting a pizza in Bristol? For our people who love Bristol. If you're going to get a pizza, where are you headed?
0:33:39 - (Ramona Harr): Oh, um, I usually see I'm taking from Greg's to go here.
0:33:44 - (Colin Johnson): Oh, nice.
0:33:44 - (Ramona Harr): Yes.
0:33:45 - (Colin Johnson): Well, that's.
0:33:45 - (Ramona Harr): So I take that. That's what I'm able to do.
0:33:47 - (Julianne Hurst): Julia, where's your favorite pizza joint from home? Because from Chicago area, so we make our own. Sorry.
0:33:54 - (Colin Johnson): Is it that thick, doughy stuff?
0:33:56 - (Julianne Hurst): No, that's the touristy, deep, traditional, Chicago style pizza.
0:34:04 - (Colin Johnson): I thought that was it.
0:34:05 - (Julianne Hurst): It is not. That's the thing.
0:34:06 - (Ramona Harr): All right, educate.
0:34:08 - (Colin Johnson): I'm in Ashley Academy right now.
0:34:10 - (Julianne Hurst): Here you go. So tavern style pizza is the original Chicago. It's real thin cracker crust cut into little squares. Reasons called tavern Pizza in bars, they would make the pizza and it's cut in squares and put it in. They would serve it up, let people take little pieces to sober them up, obviously, and so they're just little squares.
0:34:32 - (Colin Johnson): Well, thin crust pizza, that's in the square. That's cool. Yeah. Cootie Brown's does that a lot. Cootie browns.
0:34:39 - (Ramona Harr): Yeah.
0:34:40 - (Julianne Hurst): So, yes, that is probably the traditional where you're from. That's what gotcha.
0:34:46 - (Colin Johnson): Okay. How about a hamburger? Bristol?
0:34:51 - (Ramona Harr): Hmm. At five guys is probably five guys. Yeah.
0:34:55 - (Colin Johnson): Have you been to tuttis? My father in law lives in Bristol.
0:34:58 - (Ramona Harr): He likes twos. I don't get there very often, but yes, my husband.
0:35:01 - (Colin Johnson): Well, you look like you're healthy, so that's why.
0:35:03 - (Julianne Hurst): Oh, yes.
0:35:04 - (Ramona Harr): Yeah, exactly. So my husband certainly would be one because he works on that. It is good. I agree. So thank you for.
0:35:12 - (Colin Johnson): Granddad took us to Tootie's.
0:35:14 - (Ramona Harr): Yeah, no, it's good, it's good.
0:35:15 - (Colin Johnson): Where do you get a burger from at home too?
0:35:16 - (Julianne Hurst): No, we go out for that. I like, if I get a burger, cooties is good. I like theirs. I probably, I don't know. We don't go to a lot of places. That's good.
0:35:30 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah. And then coffee shops. What's your favorite? Do you guys drink coffee or you coffee people?
0:35:35 - (Julianne Hurst): I mean, we have to.
0:35:36 - (Ramona Harr): Yeah, we do.
0:35:38 - (Colin Johnson): So favorite coffee shop? Local coffee shop.
0:35:41 - (Ramona Harr): Oh, yes, they're. And I'm trying to.
0:35:44 - (Colin Johnson): It's coming to her. What's yours?
0:35:46 - (Julianne Hurst): I like open doors.
0:35:47 - (Colin Johnson): Open doors. Yeah.
0:35:48 - (Julianne Hurst): That's good.
0:35:49 - (Colin Johnson): Yeah, I like it. Okay, well, thank you, guys. Oh, last question. What gets you super fired up? Like, you're like, whoa, let's go.
0:35:59 - (Ramona Harr): Oh, my goodness. I mean, I just, I love it. No, whenever we get together and it's that collaborative spirit, like, we're getting ready for an assembly that's coming up, and there was ideas and it was just like, let's do business. We're ready to go.
0:36:11 - (Colin Johnson): Let's go.
0:36:11 - (Ramona Harr): And then they just bounce the idea. So I think I feed off of the fact that when we're in a collaborative mood, it's fun. It's so special.
0:36:19 - (Julianne Hurst): Yesterday we were short meeting whiteboard, and I was like, yeah, yeah, that's a.
0:36:24 - (Colin Johnson): Good idea.
0:36:27 - (Julianne Hurst): To be with people, just not to that, like, appreciate your ideas. And while some of our ideas might be like, way off the wall, nobody says, like, that's what, like, you gotta go, you gotta go.
0:36:41 - (Colin Johnson): That's good. Yeah.
0:36:42 - (Julianne Hurst): It's so fun that I hear you.
0:36:44 - (Colin Johnson): And I fit into those meetings. Well, you'd be like, what do you think? Well, we'll put it up.
0:36:49 - (Julianne Hurst): They just do it. They put it up.
0:36:50 - (Colin Johnson): We'll just put it up there. We'll just put a pin in it. We'll accept it.
0:36:53 - (Ramona Harr): Yeah, I will laugh. There was a moment that I came up with an idea and was working with the directors, and they all forced them to come together to make a decision because they didn't like my decision. That was great when it was not. One other point to say that's a normal idea, but now we've come together, we have a solution. And that was my, you know, my contribution was able to say, that's not what we want to do.
0:37:17 - (Colin Johnson): So therefore, so, like, pet scorpions didn't.
0:37:19 - (Ramona Harr): Make it through the rubric.
0:37:22 - (Colin Johnson): I got you.
0:37:23 - (Ramona Harr): That's awesome.
0:37:24 - (Colin Johnson): Not everybody gets a scorpion, so.
0:37:26 - (Ramona Harr): No, no.
0:37:30 - (Colin Johnson): See, I told you I got great ideas. Just put a pen in a minute.
0:37:35 - (Julianne Hurst): It's fun.
0:37:37 - (Colin Johnson): Well, thank you guys so much for coming on the podcast, and I enjoyed learning more about Ashley Academy. I'm excited that you guys have a wonderful school right here in our area, and I'm hoping people listen and they learn more about it. Bring their kids over. Yeah.
0:37:51 - (Julianne Hurst): I would love for them to visit.
0:37:52 - (Colin Johnson): It sounds like, I mean, it sounds like a wonderful place, and you guys are lovely. So I would hope that they would love to just hang out with you up your dad.
0:38:00 - (Ramona Harr): And I think it's important to remember we are a choice. We're an option, right. Versus other schools that are all in the area. And I think that that's from a business perspective, we want to make sure that we're promoting.
0:38:10 - (Julianne Hurst): Yes.
0:38:10 - (Colin Johnson): And I think a lot of people probably are afraid of the tuition talk or whatever, but I'm sure you can walk them through that and you've got plans and programs and scholarships.
0:38:20 - (Julianne Hurst): Absolutely.
0:38:21 - (Ramona Harr): We appreciate. Give us an option, at least the conversation.
0:38:24 - (Colin Johnson): Exactly. Yeah, yeah. It'll pay off, I'm sure. Perfect. Yeah. Well, thank you all very much. Till next time. I'm Colin Johnson with a Colin and Carly group. If you want to move here and go to Ashley Academy, look me up. We'd love to help you, Carly. And I would love to help you buy a house and move here or invest in real estate. I'll come teach at Ashley and teach people how to invest in real estate when they get higher up in the high school.
0:38:46 - (Colin Johnson): But yeah, it's a great way to build wealth. And we do a lot of property management as well. And we'd love to help you with that as well. Thank you for being a part of our conversation today. Until next time, we'll talk to you soon.
0:38:56 - (Ramona Harr): Thank you.
0:38:56 - (Colin Johnson): Thank you.