Pennsylvania’s Acting Secretary of Education, Eric Hagarty, announced the 2023 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year on Monday afternoon.
Ryan Hardesty from Blackhawk School District in Beaver County, PA earned the title.
Julie Hussey, a Cumberland Valley School District teacher from Shaull Elementary, was also one of 12 finalists for 2023 Teacher of the Year.
Hagarty said there are over 250,000 teachers across Pennsylvania and noted what an accomplishment it is to be a Teacher of the Year finalist.
Earlier in the day, students gave testimonies on how each teacher has impacted their lives over the past years. Hagarty recalled those testimonies during his Teacher of the Year presentation.
“Some of the things we heard: inspiring them to do great things, helping deal with bullies in school, helping deal with anxiety and mental health issues, getting through virtual learning in the pandemic,” Hagarty said.
He said one student even said he didn’t want to go to Disney World with his family because he didn’t want to leave his teacher.
The winner was announced at the SAS institute, one of the Pennsylvania department of education’s annual professional development conferences.