Mom. Educator.
Mentor. Builder.
All of it. Always.
Before the degrees, before the schools, before the statewide reach — there was a woman who knew one thing: nobody should have to figure it out alone. That conviction has driven everything she's built. And it still does.
Why Everything Exists
Nobody should have to
figure it out alone.
That's not just Ashley's story. That's the story of every school leader who's ever sat in a problem without knowing where to turn. Every mom who's ever felt like she was the only one. Every person who's been carrying more than they should have to carry alone.
Ashley built Defining My Way because she lived that isolation — and she refused to let it be anyone else's normal. There is someone out there with the same questions, the same struggles, and the same desire to do better. And there are answers. What changes everything is knowing you don't have to find them by yourself.
We have future generations to impact. But it starts with us — getting real about where we are, what we need, and where we're trying to go. Realizing we can go much farther together than we ever could alone. Even when things look and feel very hard. Especially then.
Before Everything Else
She was a woman
and a mom first.
She still is.
Ashley Springs was a woman and a mom before she was ever a school leader. And she'll be a woman and a mom long after any title or role is gone. That's not a footnote in her story. That's the foundation of it.
She is a mom — her daughter, now grown, was the one who first made her a mom, and her teen boys keep her grounded, keep her honest, and keep her moving every single day. She knows what it is to try to show up fully for her family at every stage while also showing up fully for her work. She's lived the overwhelm, the guilt, the joy, and the exhaustion of being a working mom who refuses to let either side of her life be less than it deserves to be.
That lived experience isn't separate from what she teaches. It's the reason she can teach it.
Mom — always and in every season
Her daughter made her a mom first. Her teen boys — heavily involved in sports — keep her schedule full and her perspective grounded. Every season of motherhood has shaped who she is and what she teaches.
Living what she teaches
Ashley doesn't teach balance as a theory. She's built the routines, made the mistakes, found the systems, and keeps refining them. She knows what it feels like when it's working and when it isn't.
Rooted in faith
Faith is woven into how Ashley shows up — for her family, for the schools she serves, and for the women she mentors. It's the anchor that holds everything else together.
Resilient by necessity
Ashley has faced loss and kept showing up. She's pushed through seasons that would have stopped most people — not because it was easy, but because the work and the people mattered more than the hard.
18 Years. 200+ Schools.
She always knew she
wanted to be an educator.
The rest followed.
From the classroom to district leadership to statewide support — Ashley's path in education has been driven by one consistent thread: getting close enough to the real problem to actually solve it.
She started as an EC teacher. She moved into coaching and leadership. She eventually supported 200+ charter and non-traditional schools across North Carolina — building systems, developing leaders, and doing the kind of deep work that compliance check-ins never reached.
She led with people first. Always listened before advising. Used data to plan support journeys — not to check boxes. And she never walked into a building with a clipboard and a judgment. She walked in ready to hear what was actually happening.
The results speak for themselves — but more than the numbers, what she built was trust. And trust is the only foundation anything real can be built on.
EC Classroom Teacher
Where it started. Students with the greatest needs, requiring the most intentional systems and the most patient presence.
Instructional Coaching & Leadership
Moving from the classroom into supporting other educators — building the coaching muscle that would define everything that came next.
School & District Level Work
Systems work at scale. Leading teams, building structures, and learning what it takes to move an organization — not just a classroom.
Statewide Charter School Support
5 years supporting 200+ charter and non-traditional schools across NC — statewide reach, school-specific support, people-first always.
Defining My Way: School Leadership
July 1, 2026. The day the limitations ended and the real work began — on her terms, for the schools and people who need it most.
What She Built
Two brands. One mission.
Nobody figures it out alone.
Defining My Way exists in two spaces — because Ashley lives in two spaces. The work looks different. The audience is different. The why is exactly the same.
Defining My Way:
School Leadership
Real systems support for charter and non-traditional school leaders at every level — built from 18 years of being in the building.
Defining My Way:
For Moms & Women
Real talk, real systems, and real community for working moms and women who are done going it alone and ready to build a life that actually works.
How She Works
The principles that drive
everything she does.
These aren't values on a wall. They're the way Ashley has always shown up — in classrooms, in schools, in coaching sessions, and in her own life. They didn't come from a brand exercise. They came from 18 years of figuring out what actually works.
People before compliance
She never walked into a building with a clipboard and a judgment. She walked in ready to listen. Transformation doesn't start with checklists — it starts with trust.
Listen first. Always.
You can't help someone on a journey if you don't know where they're actually trying to go. Every session, every visit, every conversation started with Ashley asking — not telling.
Data tells the story
Not just academic data. All of it — attendance, behavior, culture, implementation, family engagement. She used it to plan the journey and always shared the why with the people doing the work.
Celebrate the small things
If you wait for the big win to feel proud, you'll burn out before you get there. Progress is progress. She's always been the one to stop and name it.
One system at a time
Done right. Built to last. She doesn't believe in fixing everything at once — because that fixes nothing. Focus creates momentum. Momentum creates change.
We go farther together
Every gift, every talent, every hard-won lesson is more powerful when it's shared. That's true in schools. It's true for moms. It's true for everyone she serves.
Have questions about working with Ashley? Visit the FAQ →
You don't have to figure it out alone
Wherever you are —
there's a place for you here.
Whether you lead a school or a household — or both — Ashley built something for you. Start where you are. Go as deep as you need.
Ready to build systems that actually stick?
Start with the free School Systems Reality Check — 10 minutes, honest questions, and a clear picture of where your school stands and where to begin.
Take the Free Reality Check →Ready to stop going it alone?
You don't have to have it all figured out. You just need the right community, the right tools, and someone who actually gets it. That's what this is built for.
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