Candice Ashton: Champion of Educational Access and Empowerment is Willing to Try Anything…Except Camping

Finding purpose and promoting access through education has been a cornerstone of Candice Ashton’s life and career. Raised in Southeast DC by a strong single mother who instilled the values of academic excellence and hard work, Candice experienced firsthand how educational opportunities transform lives. Her own journey—from DC public schools to Columbia University and the University of Maryland to Sandy Spring Friends School (SSFS)—has been shaped by resilience, curiosity, and a commitment to equity and inclusion. Now, in her ninth year at SSFS, Candice reflects on her numerous roles within the community, her passion for student growth, and how the school’s Quaker values guide her work as the Dean of Student Life. Read on for edited excerpts from our recent conversation with Candice.

How did you choose a career in education?

Educational opportunities changed my life. I was raised by a single mom in southeast DC who navigated my and my older brother’s upbringing largely on her own. She expected me to get As, telling me we all have a job to do, and mine was school. I went to DC public schools until 7th Grade, and then I attended NCS [National Cathedral School] through graduation. I keep in touch with friends from the neighborhood, and I can see how education has changed our trajectories. This realization gives my work a sense of purpose.

I loved NCS—my deepest and longest-lasting friendships are with the women I met there. Now that I’m at SSFS, I call upon that formative experience and the wisdom I gleaned from being at a 125-year-old school. But, the transition to NCS was not without challenges. 

Growing up, I was surrounded by Black people—at church, at school, and in my neighborhood, so the culture shock of a predominantly white private school was intense. It makes me think of the educational concept of windows and mirrors. I grew up with mostly mirrors—in elementary school, everyone looked like me. During middle and high school at NCS, the mirror’s image shifted, since all the teachers were women. I wanted to be a chemical engineer—until I took AP chemistry, that is—and it never occurred to me that I couldn’t do it because I was a woman. Of course, at an all-girls school, all my AP math and science classes were filled with girls, and the expectation was that girls excelled in these fields. Because of the learning environment at NCS, I never wondered whether or not I could do something. My attitude was, ‘I just haven’t learned it yet.’

Some people get into education because of their specific content area or simply to work with kids. For me, it's about being able to pay it forward. I also wanted to respond to independent schools’ need for more educators of color, so that all kids see that even though identity affects access, it doesn’t determine ability.  I enjoy playing a role in students’ happiness and success.

What brought you to SSFS?

I worked at KIPP [Knowledge is Power Program, a national network of tuition-free public charter schools educating early childhood, elementary, middle, and high school students] for 12 years, starting with middle schoolers—many were the kids who grew up in my neighborhood. When I sit on the porch with my grandfather, I still see some of them!

Working at KIPP was very demanding, and I was looking for more balance. When I was doing post-secondary education counseling there, I discovered that the most important question to me has always been, “What’s the best place for you?” I was looking for a school that values the individual path—serving the student and not the institution. That’s SSFS. 

I started at SSFS as a college counselor. We typically have 80 kids applying to 200 different colleges and universities and each student is approached as an individual, with the priority on what they’re specifically looking for. I remember working with one student who wanted to be a large animal trainer, so I helped them look beyond traditional colleges for the best programs in the Midwest for that focus. We send kids to some impressive colleges, but this focus on the needs of each student over the prestige of the school is what drew me to SSFS.

What are some of the many different hats you’ve worn and are currently wearing at the school?

Soon after I started at SSFS as Associate Director of College Counseling, I began working with the Black Affinity Group. Since then, I’ve helped students start other affinity groups. I became clerk [the Quaker equivalent to “Chair”] of the all-school diversity committee, and when the Office of Institutional Equity, Justice, and Belonging [OIEJB] was created, I was asked to be the Upper School Coordinator.

I took over as Testing Coordinator when another staff member had to step away from the role in 2020. When there were recent staffing needs in OIEJB, I stepped up, and that led to my current role of assistant director.

I’m big on learning and growing. I’m curious, which is probably influenced by my upbringing— every time I’d ask my mom a question, she’d tell me to look it up—probably because she didn’t know the answer [laughing]—but regardless, it developed a habit of curiosity in me. This has led me to do professional development related to IEJB [institutional equity, justice, and belonging]. And it’s made me a person who says, “Sure, let’s try it,”…as long as it’s not camping!

While I’ve done college counseling for a long time, I recently decided it was time for me to try something else. Last year the Upper School created the Dean of Student Life Office, and I was encouraged to think big and get involved. I was named Grade 11 Dean with the goal of growing in the direction of Dean of Student Life, and I also became the faculty advisor to Torch [Upper School Student Government]. This year I was promoted to Dean of Student Life, and I love the opportunity to be more involved in the community and engage with all the students rather than just the juniors and seniors active in college counseling. I’m currently finishing with the seniors I started to work with last year, and then I’ll transition out of the College Counseling Department once my replacement is hired. 

I’ve been surprised by where I’ve found my professional joy. As Dean of Student Life, my focus is community and culture. I oversee clubs and activities, low-level discipline, attendance tracking, and events and activities like prom and homecoming, as well as the advisory curriculum. My advisory duties currently involve creating a portrait of an advisor: the expectations and guidelines for advisors. I’ve enjoyed forming an advisory working group of students and advisors to formalize the Upper School’s advisory experience, enhancing consistency. 

Relationships like the one between an advisor and a student are pivotal. Research is clear that students who have a trusted adult at school do much better than those who don’t. Advisory is a great place to build those relationships and get to know other students who you wouldn’t necessarily meet, to get advice, and to have good conversations in a small group. A strong advisory program means a stronger community.

Now, in your ninth year, what keeps you at the School?

The kids. They are the best part of the day—and sometimes the hardest! They’re funny, smart, and caring. I remember getting a concussion playing Frazz [one of the quirky, cooperative team games called Morley Games created by former faculty member Barry Morley] during Community Day one year, and a sweet kid checked on me right away! SSFS students are good citizens; they’re well educated, of course, but more importantly, they’re people who care about the world around them and want to make it better. Adolescents are naturally self-centered…it’s developmentally difficult for them to care about others, and yet SSFS students do.

Also, I get to work with a group of people who see ourselves as a team and have a common goal and mission. There’s this feeling that all of these kids are our kids—I appreciate that.

During your time at the school, in what ways have you most impactfully experienced the Quaker SPICES?

I grew up Pentecostal, and in many ways, Quaker practices don’t line up with my faith background. Pentecostals are loud, and our services involve lots of music and dancing that can last for hours! It’s the complete opposite of MFW [Meeting for Worship, a Quaker gathering involving sitting in quiet reflection and sharing thoughts as participants feel led]—there is NO silence. And yet, Pentecostals have a similar sense of being filled with the Holy Spirit, aligning with the Quaker idea of the still, small voice of God in everyone and the Quaker expectation that you will experience God when you are listening and looking.

I find that faith-based schools impart the need to care for each other, that caring for each other is caring for yourself, and that we’re connected through shared experience. Here at SSFS, I see students being able to find their people, understanding there is ‘that of God’ in all of us. Everyone has a place here.

In my role in the discipline process, I see kids being forthcoming, honest, and accountable in ways that are hard not just for 16-year-olds, but even 30 and 40-year-olds! Our approach to discipline is not to punish, but to teach, foster growth, and help students understand how to make better decisions. We’re always looking to restore kids to the community, and I see families trusting in that.

Do you have a favorite memory from your time at SSFS?

I was asked to speak at graduation in 2017—I was especially honored because students normally pick a classroom teacher. I built my message on Dr. Seuss's On Beyond Zebra!, which is not the typical Suess book given to graduates: Oh, the Places You'll Go! The book is about there not being enough letters in the alphabet for all the things the character wants to do. In my address, I encouraged the class to defy limits and go beyond—just like my own education empowered me to do.

Learn More About Upper School   Equity, Justice & Belonging at SSFS

Stay tuned for more faculty and administrator highlights throughout the year!