Ashleigh Gillespie is a 2022-2023 Teach Plus Arkansas Policy Fellow and is a K-5 Library Media Specialist at Woods Elementary in Fort Smith. She focuses on supporting students, staff, and stakeholders by curating resources and designing a shared library media space to support students’ academic needs and physical, mental, social, and emotional health. Ashleigh is in her 10th year in education, having also taught 8th-grade English and social studies. Ashleigh was named Sarah J. Fountain Novice Teacher of the Year (2013) and Arkansas Veteran of Foreign Wars Teacher of the Year (2017), and has been selected to attend numerous teaching institutes and fellowships. Ashleigh holds a Zumba Instructor Certification and serves as Awards Chairperson for the Arkansas Association of Instructional Media. Ashleigh earned her BA in History and Political Science, an AA in Criminal Justice, an MEd in Teaching, Learning, and Leadership-NTL, and an MEd in Library Media Science from Arkansas Tech University.
