Instead, she felt given up on.
Yet, on Tuesday night, she was wearing a cap, a gown, and that sort of smile that says achievement.
Ashley is one of 10 students with all too similar stories, each of them foster kids, all of them the inaugural graduates of Arise Academy Charter High School in Center City. It was opened last year for children in need.
"They're looking for personalization, looking for relationships, looking for that bond that goes beyond textbook and computer," said Interim School Leader Albert Bichner.
Arise is the first charter school in the nation founded specifically for the education of foster children, who often change schools as frequently as they change foster families.
Unlike other schools where students move on each year, Arise operates on a so-called mastery system, where students move at their own pace, once they're ready.
Lisa Hicks, who not only beat the odds, but beat the clock by graduating in three years rather than four.
"It's really remarkable. If I was not at this school, it would not be possible," Lisa said.
Lisa now plans to study nursing, as does her good friend Dianne Pough - the class valedictorian - who says nursing just seems natural.
"Taking care of people who have been in a similar situation as us, and showing them there's something else out there than what other people expect them to have," Dianne said.
Now that they have their diplomas, all 10 students are set to attend college.
