I’d like to share a little about my own educational journey; while it’s very different from traditional, I was never homeschooled. I started kindergarten-fifth grade in public school and then transferred to private school in sixth-eighth grade. I tested out of ninth grade, did tenth grade, and at the end of tenth grade I tested out of eleventh grade and spent my twelfth grade at the local Community College. I graduated highschool at fifteen years old, attained my Associates Degree at seventeen, graduated with my Bachelors at twenty. I did a double-full time in my Masters Degree and graduated at twenty-one. I thought that I was going to travel overseas to teach English at universities while pursuing my PhD, with ultimate plans to become a principal. 

Why a principal? I understood that the principal sets the culture of the school, hand-selecting teachers, planning extracurriculars, and setting the tone of the school. I wanted that responsibility because I knew I could make a difference in the public-school-system. My plans were altered by circumstances I could not change (Visas), and my life took a different course in education, staying stateside and flying back to California.  I became the youngest professor my university had ever hired. I taught in the Education Department in a program I felt was needed, a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certificate program for students. We were very successful, sending graduates to teach in places like: Costa Rica, China, Uganda; I was so proud of my students.

I pivoted career paths into something that I called a, “passion project,” joining as a director for a local non-profit performing arts academy. With twenty-five students and a lot of big dreams, the program grew to four-hundred students. Two musicals a year, professional training, professional hair and make-up; this passion project became full-time and I ended my teaching at the university. I was so proud of my students and the culture I created within our community. I hung up my dreams of being a principal within the education system because I enjoyed my non-traditional “principal-ship,” occasionally teaching creative writing, directing shows, and cheering on students who left to become performing professionals.

Unfortunately, in 2020, we were shut down and God’s biggest blessing in my life was having two babies (17 months apart, but who’s counting), and I navigated motherhood (which is one heck of a hood) and my second son’s medical issues. In 2023, I realized I needed to start thinking about Transitional Kindergarten (TK) and due to some personal decisions we have made for our sons and my family as a whole, traditional education was not going to be an option. While leaving California started to sound pretty good, easier, even, we did not feel like it was time to go.  It felt unfair that my children could easily attend any school we wished just 250 miles away. I sat, frustrated at my computer, from searching for alternative options; and my husband said, “Hypothetically, if you could have the perfect educational system for our children, what would it look like? You should write it down.” I started explaining my ideal educational world, and he pointed at my computer and said, “Write it down! All of your principal-dreams.” 

So, I present to you, the learning center I would be comfortable with my four-year old son attending. With my three-year old on the waitlist for. Come as little or as much as you want. My goal is also affordability, we have become vendors to seven charters and our hope is that you can use your funds for our programs and can offset your personal cost. I’m not looking to break anyone’s bank, however, I am looking to pay my teachers the absolute most. Teacher’s are the backbone of my dream enrichment program and I think they should be compensated as such. Your fee is going to these teacher’s livelihoods, they’re leaving traditional education with their teaching credentials to teach here, at Sova, to teach your children in the best atmosphere we can create. A space to imagine, dream, try new things, learn, grow and enjoy education. 

This is just a glimpse at who I am and why I created an enrichment for my children and your children. I wanted child-centered, I wanted flexibility, and I wanted fun.

I will always ask, “but is it fun?”

-Ashlee Fey

Founder and Principal of Sova Learning Academy