FCPS senior found inspiration from her 1st grade teacher. Then she got to train alongside her
When Frederick Douglass High School graduating senior Alayshia Catching was learning to navigate school expectations and her own potential in the first grade, she says she “had a little rough patch at the start.”
Lindsay Wallace, her first-grade teacher at Lexington’s Dixie Magnet Elementary, was among the instructors who recognized her potential, and that early support changed how Alayshia saw herself.
“My behaviors started to improve. Eventually, I was getting honor roll. My teachers really impacted my life,” Alayshia said, according to a news release from Fayette County Public Schools shared Friday.
Alayshia attended classes in Frederick Douglass’ Teaching & Learning pathway, where the district’s release said she discovered a passion for working with children and a future in education.
“When you have a teacher that is so good to you and looks after you, sees you as a student and as family, that makes you want to be just like that teacher,” Alayshia said in the district article. “I wouldn’t have made it this far without the teachers I have had. That makes me want to be like that for someone else’s child.”
As she prepared herself for a career in education, Alayshia returned to Dixie her senior year as a teaching assistant in Wallace’s class, FCPS said.
Through the firsthand experience and her work in the Teaching & Learning pathway, Alayshia strengthened her academics, raised her grade point average and volunteered supporting students through classroom and enrichment opportunities such as Junior Achievement, the article said.
“Teaching is a calling,” she said.
Alayshia will major in elementary education at the University of Kentucky this fall.
“Alayshia’s success story is one of my favorites,” Wallace said in FCPS’ post. “Her ability to build meaningful connections with students is what will make her a remarkable teacher.”
Alayshia is one of 3,000 FCPS students who are getting their diplomas at graduations this week at Rupp Arena, district spokesperson Miranda Scully told the Herald-Leader Monday.
Over her graduation gown, Alayshia will wear a graduation stole that says “Future Educator.” It will be decorated with Dixie students’ handprints.
Alayshia’s story, the district’s said, reflects the heart of Fayette County Public Schools’ Teaching & Learning pathway, which will expand districtwide this fall, “creating authentic, real-world experiences that allow students to learn alongside seasoned educators and to discover that teaching is not just a career choice, but a calling that has the power to shape generations.”
Fayette County’s main high schools all have graduations at Rupp Arena this week:
Thursday, June 4
- 10 a.m. - Frederick Douglass
- 2 p.m. - Henry Clay
- 6 p.m. -- Lafayette
Friday, June 5
- 10 a.m. - Tates Creek
- 2 p.m. - Bryan Station
- 6 p.m. -- Paul Laurence Dunbar