We are excited to announce the teachers of the year for UHS. They are:
Pre-K thru 4th: Emily Long
5th thru 8th: Ashley Smith
Mrs. Emily Long
My name is Emily Long. I am married to Tanner Long. We have 2 dogs, Stacy and Sturgill.
Mrs. Emily is originally from Atlanta Georgia. Her family moved to Powell, Tennessee when she was in the 4th grade. While in high school, she was in the color guard in the marching band. She graduated from Powell High School, then went to Tennessee Tech University. She received my Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education; and also received her Master's Degree from Tennessee Tech in Curriculum and Instruction with an Early Childhood focus. While working for her Master's Degree she worked as a Graduate Assistant for the Early Childhood department. She is currently in her 4th year of teaching. In that time, she has taught kindergarten.
Outside of school, she loves to read, travel, hike, and camp. Her favorite places that she has been to are Montana and Utah. Her and her husband love to travel so much that they have a short bus they are converting into a camper. She also helps with Smith County High School's Color Guard.
She has always dreamed of being a teacher. Her mom was a teacher, and still works in education. Her mom has always been an amazing role model for her. She is thankful to have her mom to look up to. When growing up, she struggled throughout school, and she was fortunate that she had supportive and helpful teachers that never gave up on her. Her biggest motivation is to be that supportive and helpful teacher to her students now. She loves to find new ways to help her students learn and grow.
She is grateful that the Union Heights faculty chose her to be the Prek-4 teacher of the year. She works alongside some amazing people, and to know they have chosen me for this truly makes me feel honored.
Mrs. Ashley Smith
Ms. Ashley Smith is married to Chris Smith and together they have 3 beautiful daughters. Emma, works at Carthage Elementary School as an EA, Bailey, 7th grade at UHS, and Taylor, Kindergarten at UHS.
She attended UHS from Kindergarten to 8th grade where she played basketball. Her dad and husband attended UHS as well. Along with attending UHS, Ms. Ashley attended SCHS where she played basketball and softball. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from TTU and her Master’s Degree from Cumberland University. Ms. Ashley is currently in her 15th year as an educator at UHS. In that time, she taught Pre-K, 4th grade, and 5th/6th; site-director of the Before and After School program; assistant basketball coach for Lady Redcoats; Beta Club sponsor; Middle school dance sponsor.
Outside of school, Ms. Ashley is a sports fanatic. She loves watching football and basketball, with her favorite teams being the Tennessee Titans and the Vanderbilt Commodores. When not watching sports, you can find her helping her husband on the farm with his cattle or taking Bailey to her sporting events.
When thinking about why she wanted to become a teacher, Ms. Ashley thinks of her favorite teacher, Ms. Benita Lane. Ms. Ashley states, “I had Ms. Lane as a teacher at UHS and she never gave up on any student in my class. She made learning fun and taught us things outside of the curriculum such as cross-stitching. When I was given the opportunity to return to UHS as a teacher, I felt honored to be able to return to my alma mater to educate young minds just as the teachers I had at UHS did for me. To me, teaching is more than a textbook. Teaching is getting to know each student as a person and letting them know that you care about their well-being. Education is part of their well-being but when you get to know them as a person, they tend to learn better for you because they know you truly care about them.” One of Ms. Ashley’s favorite quotes is from Aristotle and it says: “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all. Ms. Ashley states, “I am very honored that the faculty at UHS chose me as the 5-8 teacher of the year. In my opinion, though, we are all teachers of the year because we show up every day and love the children as we do our own.”