This school year, Pompano Beach High School welcomed a new teacher to its English department, Ashleigh Anderson. Although it is her first year at Pompano Beach High School and she had a late start, she has been able to adapt to the new environment with the help of her colleagues.
“I have really supportive teachers/faculty in the English department,” Anderson said. “They have been like my besties through the whole process.” She has been a teacher for three years, but started at PBHS in October 2025. Before our school, she worked in Hillsborough County, teaching at Jefferson High School.
Anderson’s passion for teaching English was ignited at a young age. “My mom’s a teacher, and my grandma was [also] a teacher.” As a child, she loved to stay up late reading with a flashlight under the covers. She discovered how much she loved to read and fell in love with books. “I want other people to feel like that about books too,” she said.
In her classroom, Anderson aims to help students realize that reading and writing are not as bad as they may think.”Writing is not as complicated as they make it,” she said. “I would like them to leave knowing if there’s an essay, they can do it and attack it.” She hopes they leave her class feeling more confident in their abilities.
Her favorite part of teaching is watching students surprise themselves. “A lot of students probably think they’re not a great writer just because they haven’t tried,” Anderson said. “Once they try and really put in the effort, they may realize that they’re actually really good at it.”
Anderson describes her teaching style as more student-centered. “Their grade is their grade. I like to be a support system, but I don’t like to hand-hold,” she said. “I like to give instruction and allow them to self-discover.” She prefers to give students the space to discover their strengths rather than being guided every step of the way.
As Anderson continues her first year at PBHS, she hopes to share her passion for English language arts with her students, helping them build their confidence in their reading and writing ability.
