Pennsylvania’s 2024 teacher of the year is a graduate of Penn State World Campus.
Ashlie Crosson received the recognition because of her work as a leader and role model as a teacher at Mifflin County High School in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. She earned a Master of Education in Educational Leadership in 2015.
Each year, the Pennsylvania Department of Education seeks nominations for educators who demonstrate exemplary teaching and classroom practices across the Commonwealth.
Crosson was one of 12 finalists, all of whom were nominated by their peers and went through several rounds of evaluations, including completing a timed interview and submitting résumés, lesson plans, and videos.
“It’s a tremendous honor,” Crosson said. “I feel really proud and grateful for the opportunity I have to celebrate my community at home in Mifflin County and my colleagues across the Commonwealth.”
Crosson completed her master’s degree through a program offered in partnership with the Penn State College of Education and Penn State World Campus.
She focused her course work on organizational leadership and instructional coaching because it more closely aligned with her career goals.
“My Penn State degree has definitely helped me to become the teacher advocate that I am,” Crosson said. “I lead as a peer and a colleague, not as an admin, and my Penn State course work gave me the skills to do that.”
Crosson said she became a teacher because of her own experience with educators who invested in her.
“I decided, if I could, I wanted to do for another generation of students what was done for me,” she said.
Crosson is making that difference in the Grade 10 English, Advanced Placement (AP) Language, and Journalism classes she teaches. She said her experience learning online through World Campus helped her integrate virtual learning into her own classroom. That helped her students adjust to a new way of learning when their school moved online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think learning through World Campus was the foundation that helped me handle that transition,” she said.
Crosson said the degree program was a perfect fit for her.
“Penn State World Campus allowed me to build a graduate program that worked with my full-time teaching schedule while still having access to high-quality instruction, exceptional instructors, and all of Penn State’s resources and networking benefits,” she said.
A Penn State education online
Penn State World Campus offers a Penn State education online, with a comprehensive selection of more than 200 degrees and certificates.
The master’s degree in educational leadership is one of the eight master’s and doctoral degrees in education that are offered by the College of Education online.
Learn more about the Master of Education in Educational Leadership offered online through Penn State World Campus.
Media Contact:
Mike Dawson
mdawson@psu.edu