Latest news with #AshlieCrosson
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Teacher of the Year Asks Rural Students to Tackle Big Global Topics With Empathy
Ashlie Crosson has always loved the classroom. Growing up in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, as one of seven kids of divorced parents, 'I found school to be this place of stability, while some other parts of my life were in transition and in changes,' Crosson told The 74 in a recent interview. 'I was a pretty natural student most of the time,' she added, 'but it was mostly because I had incredible teachers who invested in their students so far beyond what is expected of the job.' Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter She said she can remember all the way back to a kindergarten teacher who wrote her letters over the summer because she'd be her teacher again in first grade. 'I think I looked at that and said, 'This is an incredibly rewarding way to spend a life.'' It became a 14-year career that rewarded Crosson back — and on the national stage. The AP English teacher and high school journalism advisor was named the 2025 National Teacher of the Year April 29 by the Council of Chief State School Officers. The award, which follows her earning the Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year title, allows Crosson to spend the next year traveling across the country as an ambassador to fellow educators. Ashlie Crosson is interviewed on CBS Mornings on April 29 after being unveiled as the winner of the 2025 National Teacher of the Year. (CBS Mornings) She'll step away from her hometown high school five years after she went back there to answer 'this higher calling to return to the place that made me into a successful adult and into somebody who had found joy and happiness in their adult life.' Crosson, a first-generation college graduate, was selected from a pool of 56 local winners who were narrowed down to three other finalists: American Samoa's Mikaela Saelua, an English language teacher who is the first finalist from the seven islands in the program's history; Washington, D.C.'s Jazzmyne Townsend, an elementary school special education teacher and children's book author; and Colorado's Janet Renee Damon, a high school history teacher at a transfer school who runs a school-based podcast program focused on mental health disparities. Related Fostering Culture & Belonging: Reflections from Teacher of the Year Finalists 'Ashlie is an authentic, self-reflective leader who uses her experiences to help elevate her students into successful careers and life after high school,' the National Teacher of the Year Selection Committee said in a statement. 'She is also a strong and passionate representative for educators, using her voice to help people understand the weight of the teaching profession and the gravity of what teachers do.' Crosson said she grounds the bulk of her classroom work in real-world connections and projects, which allow her students to explore English from a careers-based perspective, while also building understanding and empathy for people of diverse backgrounds across the world. This is perhaps most apparent in her 10th-grade elective course called Survival Stories, which she began designing as a Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms fellow. In it, she wants her students to consider sweeping questions like, 'What problems are we trying to solve and in what ways do we need to communicate across borders?' To keep the course accessible and age appropriate, all the material —from non-fiction texts and memoirs, to podcasts and films — come from the voices of teens and adolescents. This allows her students, Crosson said, to have, 'really authentic and approachable conversations about things that can feel really big and really unapproachable.' Mifflin County, Pennsylvania (Mifflin County PA Official Website) In today's political climate, traversing some of these charged topics in rural Mifflin — an almost exclusively white town of just over 46,000, where almost 80% of the vote went to President Donald Trump in 2024 — might seem daunting. Crosson's approach is to begin with texts that take place as far from central Philadelphia as possible, so that by the time students reach stories from their own community — some of which they may have otherwise met with preconceived notions — they are able to analyze them with more nuance, greater empathy and a stronger text-based knowledge. 'We are all here, going through our own human experience,' Crosson said. She wants her students to ask, ' 'How do I relate to these people? How do I better understand these people?' Because at the end of the day, my students also want to be better understood. So there's a reciprocity there.' When her students come to her with challenging political questions — for example about Trump's recent executive orders looking to eradicate any focus on diversity, equity and inclusion in schools — she encourages them to return to the facts, asking, 'What are the actual details?' Related The Education Department Asked for Reports of DEI. It Might Get Something Else 'I'm able to keep my opinions out of things because I'm also first asking my students to put their opinions on pause,' she said, 'so that we have a chance to become more informed about things and have a better, more well-rounded understanding of what's going on before we start trying to figure out our feelings about it.' In addition to Survival Stories, Crosson teaches AP language and composition and 10th-grade English, while also running the school's journalism elective. At the newspaper and district magazine, called the Pawprint, she functions more as a boss and editor than teacher, she said, a position she cherishes, especially since a number of the high schoolers end up going into journalism. 'If students are basically getting simulations of future careers, I love that. And I love facilitating that.' Related Best Stories by USC Student Journalists of 2024 Crosson's classroom is covered with colorful student artwork from floor to ceiling and one corner hosts the 'One Word Board,'where students place the word that will most motivate and inspire them throughout the year. In a video for CBS Mornings, her students were asked to choose five words to describe Crosson: joyful, funny, caring, energetic (but not too much), passionate and dedicated were among their picks. One student said she sees Crosson as 'a safe space.' Another said that whenever she spots students struggling, 'She'll try to make you better as a student and [in] doing that you also learn lessons in how to take help and help others. So I think it makes students better people.' Along with her teaching responsibilities, Crosson serves as the communications chair for her union's negotiating team, assists with the school's Positive Behavior Interventions and Support programming, leads the district's international student trips and co-hosts 'The PL Playbook,' a podcast dedicated to teachers' professional learning. When asked her favorite book to teach, Crosson laughed and said, 'I honestly think that every book becomes my favorite book.' 'There are some books that I've taught for 10 years,' she continued 'and so now there's so many different colored pens [on the pages]. The book is the timeline of my teaching career. And there's something really beautiful about that.'
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Mifflin County teacher wins National Teacher of the Year
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — A teacher at a local high school has been named the 2025 National Teacher of the Year Award. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Ashlie Crosson, an English teacher at Mifflin County High School and Pennsylvania's 2025 Teacher of the Year, was named the National Teacher of the Year by the Council of Chief State School Officers. Crosson takes pride in helping her students develop their communication and problem-solving skills in a global society, expanding their worldview, and empowering them to use their voices. 'Ashlie Crosson is an outstanding educator and role model who is preparing her students to be global citizens and change-makers,' said PSEA President Aaron Chapin. 'Ashlie works hard every day to nurture in her students a love for learning while also helping them to be their most authentic selves. 'Ashlie is always thinking about her students and advocating for them,' said Del Fuller, PSEA Central Region president and president of the Association of Mifflin County Educators. 'She is constantly looking for opportunities to give her students new perspectives that would not normally be available to them. She has organized trips to Europe and D.C.; she runs our school newspaper and is a leader in using AI in the classroom. She strives to bring her ideas to the classroom and to share with her fellow teachers, making everyone around her better at their craft. Ashlie Crosson is a teacher students look up to and a teacher we should look to emulate. Congratulations to Ashlie for winning the CCSSO National Teacher of the Year Award.' Crosson teaches Advanced Placement language and composition, English 10, and Survival Stories, an elective that approaches global humanitarian crises from a youth perspective. She also advises the journalism program, which publishes the school newspaper and district magazine. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ashlie Crosson named 2025 National Teacher of the Year
Ashlie Crosson, an English teacher at Mifflin County High School in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, was exclusively revealed on "CBS Mornings" as the 2025 National Teacher of the Year. The Council of Chief State School Officers selects the winner each year. "It's an incredible honor," Crosson told "CBS Mornings." "It feels like a big responsibility, but it's also this incredible choice or chance to share my kids and my community with our country and at the same time sort of receive that back from teachers all over our nation, and that's the perfect opportunity." Crosson's courses include advanced placement language and composition. In a tribute video, her former and current students described her as passionate, caring, intelligent and dedicated. "She taught me a lot about finding your own identity and finding your passion with things," one student said. Crosson, who has been teaching for 14 years, said authenticity is a big factor in how she teaches, something her students have responded well to. "I think especially at the high school level, students are trying to figure out who they are, and they need to see that from their teachers, too. If we want them to figure out their identity, then we have to be ourselves as well, because they're going to learn through what they observe," she said. Principal Kelly Campagna credits the energy Crosson brings to her classroom every day, saying she makes her students "extend and stretch beyond comfort levels because she wants to get the most out of them." Even after receiving praise for her work, Crosson acknowledged her students. "They come in, they show up, and they make the job easy," she said. Her goals go beyond her high school classroom and into adulthood. "I think for our students, the more experience they have at the high school level, or younger than that, where they have the chance to struggle, fail, try again, try something new, then the more confident they're going to be when they become adults." She's also the adviser for the school journalism program. Crosson said she teaches her students the fundamentals of journalism, including interviewing, sources and being a consumer of news. "She taught me everything I know about writing, and taking journalism with Miss Crosson definitely opened my eyes to how much I enjoy writing," said Mina Phillips, a former student and current sports reporter for a local newspaper. When asked about national implications on education and President Trump's executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, she said, "I think that there's a lot of change and uncertainty going on with the national level of things, but within our classes, our focus is always on students and on meeting their needs and meeting the needs of our community, and so I think a lot of that will stay our focus." To support teachers, Crosson said it's important to focus on what you can do for your community. "Every school and every community's needs are different, and so find what your place needs, what your home needs, and that engagement and that involvement between families and businesses and stakeholders in the community is what creates a thriving school district," she said. Supreme Court appears poised to side with student with disability in school discrimination case Japan's population shrinking as marriage and birth rates plummet | 60 Minutes Trump tariffs executive order expected
CBS News
29-04-2025
- General
- CBS News
Ashlie Crosson named 2025 National Teacher of the Year: "It's an incredible honor"
Ashlie Crosson, an English teacher at Mifflin County High School in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, was exclusively revealed on "CBS Mornings" as the 2025 National Teacher of the Year. The Council of Chief State School Officers selects the winner each year. "It's an incredible honor," Crosson told "CBS Mornings." "It feels like a big responsibility, but it's also this incredible choice or chance to share my kids and my community with our country and at the same time sort of receive that back from teachers all over our nation, and that's the perfect opportunity." Crosson's courses include advanced placement language and composition. In a tribute video, her former and current students described her as passionate, caring, intelligent and dedicated. "She taught me a lot about finding your own identity and finding your passion with things," one student said. Crosson, who has been teaching for 14 years, said authenticity is a big factor in how she teaches, something her students have responded well to. "I think especially at the high school level, students are trying to figure out who they are, and they need to see that from their teachers, too. If we want them to figure out their identity, then we have to be ourselves as well, because they're going to learn through what they observe," she said. Principal Kelly Campagna credits the energy Crosson brings to her classroom every day, saying she makes her students "extend and stretch beyond comfort levels because she wants to get the most out of them." Even after receiving praise for her work, Crosson acknowledged her students. "They come in, they show up, and they make the job easy," she said. Her goals go beyond her high school classroom and into adulthood. "I think for our students, the more experience they have at the high school level, or younger than that, where they have the chance to struggle, fail, try again, try something new, then the more confident they're going to be when they become adults." She's also the adviser for the school journalism program. Crosson said she teaches her students the fundamentals of journalism, including interviewing, sources and being a consumer of news. "She taught me everything I know about writing, and taking journalism with Miss Crosson definitely opened my eyes to how much I enjoy writing," said Mina Phillips, a former student and current sports reporter for a local newspaper. When asked about national implications on education and President Trump's executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, she said, "I think that there's a lot of change and uncertainty going on with the national level of things, but within our classes, our focus is always on students and on meeting their needs and meeting the needs of our community, and so I think a lot of that will stay our focus." To support teachers, Crosson said it's important to focus on what you can do for your community. "Every school and every community's needs are different, and so find what your place needs, what your home needs, and that engagement and that involvement between families and businesses and stakeholders in the community is what creates a thriving school district," she said.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Local teacher named finalist for National Teacher of the Year
MIFFLIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM)– A teacher at a local high school has been named one of the four finalists for the 2025 National Teacher of the Year Award. Ashlie Crosson, an English teacher at Mifflin County High School and Pennsylvania's 2025 Teacher of the Year, was named one of the four finalists for National Teacher of the Year by the Council of Chief State School Officers, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. 'We take pride in our Pennsylvania educators, and it's exciting to see one of our own recognized in this way on the national stage,' said Interim Acting Secretary of Education Angela Fitterer. 'We applaud Ashlie Crosson's dedication and commitment to her students and school community, and we are excited to cheer her on and celebrate with her as she takes on this tremendous honor of being selected as a National Teacher of the Year finalist.' Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now The Department of Education said Crosson teaches Advanced Placement Language and Composition, English 10, and the elective class survival stories. Additionally, Crosson advises the school's journalism program that publishes the school newspaper and district magazine. According to the Department of Education, Crosson will serve as an ambassador for education and an advocate for teachers and students nationwide if named Teacher of the Year. Other finalists can be checked out on the National Teacher of the Year website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
