What’s good for educators is what’s good for students, Ashlie Crosson, the 2025 Teacher of the Year, told nearly 7,000 delegates at NEA’s 2025 Representative Assembly in Portland, Oregon.
The words are gospel according to one of the union representatives in her home state of Pennsylvania, and they have become a mantra for Crosson, an English teacher at Mifflin County High School in Lewistown.
It’s a simple concept, she admitted, but for her first decade teaching she wore her exhaustion like a badge of honor. She said she poured every ounce of energy into her classroom, convincing herself that if her students’ cups were full, hers was too. “But there’s a difference between being altruistic and being self-sacrificing. And through the work of my union—through the solidarity and support of educators like you—I came to understand something transformative: the best way to advocate for our students truly is to advocate for ourselves.”
Crosson acknowledged that the delegates, and indeed all public school educators, know what is at stake for American education in this moment --and that we must come together to preserve it.
“We are the guardians-- not just of our curricula and our classrooms—but of the conditions that allow our schools to thrive,” she said. “I say this with full conviction, every day, but especially today: Protecting education is how we protect our democracy.”
America’s schools are one of the greatest democratic institutions we all share, she affirmed. “They are where kids learn to think critically, collaborate respectfully, and dream boundlessly. They are where voices are heard, where differences are explored, and where possibility begins.”
But if our schools falter—if education is disrupted by disinvestment or division—then we don’t just lose a school system, she warned, “we lose our future.”
But she reminded the delegates that we don’t have to ask, “what do we do now,” because public school educators have passed this test before.
“We recite, we repeat, we embody the undeniable, inalienable truth: What’s good for educators is what’s good for students.”
Crosson was clear about what is good for educators: union solidarity, dignity in contracts, respect for expertise, and regard for an educator’s humanity. Safe schools and equity in classrooms are also good for educators, she added, as well as investments in teacher retention and recruitment.
“When educators have what is good and necessary to do their jobs, America’s children become the real benefactors,” she said.
As public education in America is under attack, Crosson said that now, more than ever, we are tasked with building a better future.
“With the strength of our union, a resilience that dares to endure, and a heart that has no bounds, I know we can find common ground… I know we can build forward progress. I know we can meet this moment for our kids, for our colleagues, for our country.”
