Aaron, Jeff, and Rachael sit down with 2025 PA Teacher of the Year Leon Smith to discuss the challenges facing education today. From the shrinking teacher pipeline to the urgent need for more diverse educators, Leon shares his insights on why representation matters, how to rebuild the profession, and what gives him hope for the future.
Aaron, Jeff, and Rachael sit down with 2025 PA Teacher of the Year Leon Smith to discuss the challenges facing education today. From the shrinking teacher pipeline to the urgent need for more diverse educators, Leon shares his insights on why representation matters, how to rebuild the profession, and what gives him hope for the future.
Do you have some feedback for us? Send an email to podcast@psea.org.
Learn more and watch for upcoming episodes at psea.org/podcast.
Voiceover:
Welcome to Duty Free Lunch, the official podcast of the Pennsylvania State Education Association. Join us as we unpack the issues that matter most to you. From cutting-edge classroom strategies to thought-provoking policy discussions, if it impacts PSEA members, it's on the menu.
Aaron Chapin:
Hello, and welcome to Duty Free Lunch. I'm PSEA President Aaron Chapin. I'm joined once again with PSEA's Vice President Jeff Ney and PSEA Treasurer Rachael West. Jeff, Rachael, welcome to the podcast.
Rachael West:
Thanks, Aaron.
Jeff Ney:
Hey, thanks. How are you guys doing? That's great. Well, hey, listen spring's right around the corner. We're gearing up for House of Delegate season, so it's a good day to travel all around the state, visit our members. Is there any one event that you're looking forward to more than another?
Aaron Chapin:
Are you saying pick one region over another?
Jeff Ney:
I didn't say regions.
Aaron Chapin:
That's sad.
Jeff Ney:
Because I said events. There's several events going on out there.
Aaron Chapin:
It's hard to pick from all of our regions, all of our eds. It's like picking a favorite child in the classroom.
Jeff Ney:
Well, I always could do that back when I was in the classroom.
Rachael West:
I mean, we just didn't tell them that. So, I'm going to do exactly what I would have done in the classroom and I'm going to choose the statewide Spring Leadership training, because we get to see a group of people that we don't always see at our House of Delegates, so that's always an interesting and fun event for me.
Jeff Ney:
See, it's just that easy, Aaron.
Aaron Chapin:
I loved all of my students.
Jeff Ney:
Did you?
Aaron Chapin:
I did. They were all wonderful and unique.
Jeff Ney:
You didn't have enough room next to your desk to put all of those students.
Aaron Chapin:
No, I put my desk right in the middle of the room.
Jeff Ney:
Oh, is that what you-
Aaron Chapin:
I would have them all circle around me.
Rachael West:
That tracks.
Jeff Ney:
No. Listeners out there, trust me, I've been in that room. That's not how it was set up.
Aaron Chapin:
Well, what's your favorite time? What are you looking forward to, Jeff?
Jeff Ney:
Well, Rachael did take mine. The Spring Leadership Conference to kick off the spring is always a good one, but simply all of the Houses of Delegates getting to meet the members back where they are in their own home regions and to hear those stories of what's going on and what they're looking forward to for the end of the year.
Aaron Chapin:
All right, get ready for this one.
Jeff Ney:
I'm ready.
Aaron Chapin:
This is why I'm a professional podcaster now.
Jeff Ney:
You're a professional? You get paid for it?
Aaron Chapin:
I do actually. I can't wait for the National ESP Conference in Louisville.
Jeff Ney:
Oh, it's in Louisville this year. That's right.
Aaron Chapin:
You know why?
Jeff Ney:
Because it's a wonderful destination?
Aaron Chapin:
Louisville is great, but because our ESP of the year is nominated for the National ESP of the Year.
Jeff Ney:
That is going to be a very special event.
Aaron Chapin:
And what a coincidence. In the podcast today?
Jeff Ney:
Yeah?
Aaron Chapin:
We've got Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year.
Jeff Ney:
Oh. Look at that connection. My goodness.
Aaron Chapin:
I know.
Jeff Ney:
Almost like you prepared it like that.
Aaron Chapin:
I know. Today we're welcoming the 2025 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year. He's in our studio. Leon Smith, he's a social studies teacher at the great Haverford High School. Don't even try to tell me it's not great. I know it's great. I used to student teach there, and he's been there for 24 years. He's a senior policy fellow with Teach Plus PA, where he's advocated for policies to diversity ... diversify, excuse me, the educator workforce, build a stronger teacher pipeline. He's been really instrumental in Haverford's Grow Your Own program with an eye in increasing educator diversity within the districts. Welcome to the studio, Leon. How you doing?
Leon Smith:
I'm doing well, thank you.
Aaron Chapin:
It's awesome that you're here. We can't wait to get things started. We have a lot to talk about. It's not every day you get Teacher of the Year in here.
Jeff Ney:
It is not every day.
Aaron Chapin:
Unless it was last year.
Jeff Ney:
Which we got the Teacher of the Year last year.
Aaron Chapin:
She got her in here. But it's not every day we get to talk to the Teacher of the Year. So first of all, all seriousness, congratulations on this great honor. I can't imagine being Teacher of the Year. That's an understatement. It's obviously a great honor. Can you tell us a little bit about what you think? How did you stand out enough to get this great honor?
Leon Smith:
Well, first of all, thank you for having me. It's a great honor to be here. I would just say for me, my tremendous passion about education. I think that when I teach my lessons, my passion comes through in what I teach. I think the connections that I make with my students, I think they realize that I truly care about them, and it's not just about information. And I think also that the students see that I love what I do, that it's not something that I'm just there to do as a job, but actually, I feel like together, we can try to create a better world. So, I think that they just see that in me that this is something that I feel like I was meant to do, and I really try to make sure that they get something out of the class, some meaning, something that they learn, and that they are changed as a result of being in my class.
Jeff Ney:
Oh, my goodness. No wonder why he's Teacher of the Year.
Aaron Chapin:
And no wonder I'm not.
Jeff Ney:
So in our upcoming voice article, which is coming out in March, check your mailboxes, everybody make sure you read that, you take a mention of the decline in our teaching certificates around the state. When you talk about that, have you found, or can you guess, what the reason is for that decline of happening, or what factors are leading up to that?
Leon Smith:
Well, I think there's a variety of factors. I think Dr. Ed Fuller out of Penn State has done a lot of great work around that. But I think definitely, just the prestige around education and especially teachers is not where it should be. I think that the talents and the skill set that educators have is often not put on display. I think that when you're an educator, you have to be intelligent, organized, collaborative, you have to be innovative, technologically aware. And I think about all the things that people often celebrate on resumes and things that I don't think are often exalted about education, so I think that's one of them.
I also think that we have to do a better job, like marketing the wonderful things that we're doing in our classrooms. I don't think that that's out there enough. When I think about my colleagues at my school, and even people that I follow on social media, I mean, they're doing tremendous things that I don't think that people are really putting out there enough. But I also think that it's very economically challenging to become an educator. I think that in Pennsylvania, the cost of college education has gone up. I think that certification requirements, fees that cost ... money testing and things like that. And I think that when students then graduate, now they have to pay all that back, and oftentimes, as we know when they first start becoming a teacher, they're probably not going to be making as much money as they would maybe in other careers. So, I just think we have to make it not as economically prohibitive.
And then I also think that we really need to think about the experiences that our students are having in the classroom, all of our students, and really have to make sure that they are all feeling like this is a place that they would want to return to, and that they would want to help become a better place. Because I think sometimes, students feel like it wasn't a place that they had a great experience with, and we have to make sure that that is improving as well.
Jeff Ney:
Yeah, I think all of those things, I think, are 100% right on all of those issues.
Aaron Chapin:
Yup.
Rachael West:
As we're looking at the shortages and things like that, and we're looking at what this educator pipeline looks like, we know that fewer than 7% of PA teachers are actually people of color, and we have a much more diverse student population. Actually, that's how one of the things that Leon and I know each other from before today at this podcast is actually a group where that was one of the concerns is talking about how to get a more diverse teaching population. In your opinion, how is this impacting students, and why is seeking better representation in education so crucial to our students?
Leon Smith:
Well, I think it's impacting their ability to achieve at their best. I think that when you look at educator diversity, it's something that benefits all students. Research has shown that, so it's not just for students of color, but it's for all students. But I also think it provides them with an opportunity to see differences that they may not normally see within their communities. We know that we have a history of housing segregation and policies that have made it so that sometimes our neighborhoods are very homogeneous, and so we have an opportunity for students to be able to see adults in their classrooms that have an opportunity to break stereotypes and give them different perspectives than they normally would achieve.
But I would also say that we have educators that bring pedagogical practices, that bring in different cultural backgrounds and experiences and best practices that can really make the classroom a much richer environment that exposes students to skills and traits that they would not normally see where they come from. So, I think that all of those things are important, and I also think for students of color, it is so important because they have an opportunity to see mirrors. They have an opportunity to see people that remind them of themselves. I also think for the educators, they have an opportunity sometimes to be able to say, like, "Hey, I remember when I was that particular student," and they may be able to pull that particular student to the side and give them an ounce of advice that they needed at that moment. And so, I think that all of those things are important for educator diversity.
Aaron Chapin:
Absolutely. You've mentioned your experience as the only African American male teacher in your school for 20 years, so how has that really shaped your teaching and your interactions with the students?
Leon Smith:
Hm. I think that it really gave me a lot of empathy for many of the students in my own school because we really went through some of the same experiences. So, I think in many ways it made our relationship closer because when I know that I was the only educator of color, but there weren't many other students of color for a while as well, so it was like we could really understand each other when they would say, like, "Hey, here's something that happened to me." And they understood me as an advocate and someone that could really stand up for them and be there for them.
But I think it has shaped me because it has given me a story. It has given me a lot of resilience. I can really understand what it's like to feel lonely, to feel like there's these things that happen to you that maybe you don't have the words to really explain and articulate to others, but you know that it's affecting you, and there's only certain people that you can really speak to that could really understand that. And so, I'm so blessed because I had people in my life that when I was going through those challenging situations, they uplifted me and they kept me on this path. But I realized that if I didn't have those people, I might not have stayed a teacher.
And so for me, it's like, how can I make sure that there are spaces where new teachers that are coming in can have those support groups so that they don't leave the profession? Because I know that when we think about retention, I know that educators of color leave at higher rates than our white colleagues, so it's like we would do all this work to try to get educator diversity, but when I think about Sharif El-Mekki who works for the Center of Black Educator Development, he's the CEO, he talks about any good recruitment plan has a good retention plan. And so, we need to make sure that yes, we want to get the people in the door, but what are we doing to support them once they're in the building?
Aaron Chapin:
Great point. Great point.
Rachael West:
It's like you knew what I was going to ask you next, Leon, because you're kind of leading into where I was headed, which, one of the challenges is that loneliness if you are an only. What do you think ... Is there a specific challenge that the retention should be looking at besides, you know, obviously if there's more diversity in the school already, you do have a better support system. But what challenge could we be looking at in order to focus more on that retention? Like, what challenge should we be trying to correct?
Leon Smith:
Well, I think for particularly Black male educators, because within the United States, less than 2% of all educators are Black men, I think really being able to look at them as like subject matter experts, as pedagogical experts, as opposed to individuals that might just be disciplinarians. Because I think sometimes that when we have Black men in buildings, there's a thought that, like, "Okay, Mr. Smith is here, so now any students that we have that may cause problems, we're just going to send them to Mr. Smith and everything's going to be okay." But remember, you hired Mr. Smith to be an educator, right? He wasn't hired to just all of a sudden have this magic touch.
I also think that we have to make sure that educators of color are not dealing with the invisible tags. And I think what that is sometimes is like, anytime there's a diversity program or anytime that there's a student of color that's dealing with a challenging experience, that that teacher becomes the person that everybody comes to and they must have all the answers. And I think that in many ways, they certainly do want to support any student that needs help. I mean, every educator wants to do that, but I think the challenge becomes this, like, all right, but they also have to grade papers and lesson plan and attend meetings, and then they have these other responsibilities that they're not being compensated for on top of that. And so now it's like, all right, we have to do that and it's extra work. Well, what about time with their family? What about ways that they may want to advance their career?
So I think we have to make sure that we're checking in on them. I think principals, leaders in buildings need to check in on their educators of color. How are they doing? Just ask them, just to build a relationship with them, and make sure that they know that you're someone who actually sees them, accepts them for their authentic selves, and realizes that they're going to have experiences that are going to be different than your other staff members, and that you recognize that and you're there to support them.
Jeff Ney:
Yeah, the diversity overall is what's going to make all of our schools so much better. And we're recording this episode in the middle of February, Black History Month. So in your time, whether it's in your school or in your district, maybe one of your fellow teachers, or maybe it was a lesson in your own classroom, have you ever experienced something that gave you that wow factor to celebrate what we're celebrating this month?
Leon Smith:
Yeah. I mean, I think about Dr. Carter G. Woodson, who is the founder of Black History Month, and his idea was that it wouldn't just be like a one-off. He really wanted it to be something that was celebrated all year, and this month would be the time that you would show your best things that you were doing all the time. One thing we've done is Soul Food Night at our school, and it was really cool, where we had students bring in foods that were representative of African American culture, and we invited the community. There were games and music and knowledge that was transferred, and it was really a great time. And I just saw the students really having an opportunity to share their culture with others, and people were so excited to come, so that was one thing that really I enjoyed.
One other thing I would say is that we often do quotes at the beginning of the day on the announcements at my school about Black history facts, and we've done competitions before, where we've asked a question and then students will run to my homeroom, like, "I know the answer." And then I'll even sometimes have colleagues that will stop me and say, "Wow, I didn't really know this," or they'll say, "Hey, I've done this research on this particular person." So at our school it's exciting, because it's not just, it's a Leon thing. It is like, okay, there's science teachers that are doing something or math teachers. So, I think it's important for the students to see, it's not just for the educators of color to do things for Black History Month, but it's something that everybody realizes the value of.
Jeff Ney:
Yeah, and I mean, I circle back to another thing that you said earlier. You discussed the importance of creating multiple entry points into the teaching, whether it's for young Black men to get into the schools or whatever the case may be. Can you tell us more about how the programs like the Center for the Black Educator Development and Ed Rising are helping refuel the educator pipeline in all aspects of education?
Leon Smith:
Yeah. Well, I think that's so powerful, because I think especially when you think about the Center or Educators Rising, it's that generating that early interest, right? We really have to get young people excited about education early. Sharif El-Mekki talks about the tap, and he talks about the idea of identifying young people from a very early age and really inviting them into the profession, to say things like, "Have you ever thought about being a teacher?" Right? Like, "I see these qualities in you and I think you would be an excellent educator." And we know that oftentimes, it just takes an adult to really see something in us that we don't see in ourselves that can really set us on a particular path. So, I think that's really important.
I also think about the Department of Education and the work they've done around CTE standards that they released a couple of years ago, where now students can go to an institution for technical training, or even within buildings to get more training to become a teacher, and take classes that are aligned with core standards or aligned with local colleges and universities. Because I think that's going to help with retention, because the more experience that students have early on is going to help them. So, I think that's important.
And then I also think the idea of the dual enrollment is important, and the articulation agreements that we see happening, where students can take classes and then earn nine credits, 18 credits, things like that, because now, that cuts down on the cost of going to college. And then one thing I would say too is we also want to make sure that people that are career changers have an opportunity. So, you think about the school district of Philadelphia, they do the paraprofessionals, right, where they pay for paraprofessionals to get educated while they're working, because most people that already start working can't just stop. So, I think that's important. I love the work that Department of Education has done around student/teacher stipends. That's so important, and I know that Governor Shapiro in his budget has increased it up to 40 million. We would love to get up to, you know, between 50 and 55. That would be great. But I just think all of those things that we can do to try to help make teaching more attractive and less expensive is important.
Jeff Ney:
Yeah. Whether it's celebrating what our members are doing, or our members celebrating for the students to tell them, "Hey, look, this is a great path for you," that would be absolutely fantastic.
Rachael West:
Absolutely. You've been in the classroom for 24 years, and sometimes, not every day is all sunshine and rainbows. So, is there something that stands out to you, a great memory that you have that is one of those things that on the days where it might be kind of tough, you can remember this and remember that that's why you chose this path and you're sure it's the right path for you?
Leon Smith:
Wow. I would say I'm really passionate about Black educators and the legacy of Black educators, and just, I think, the way that teachers have played a key role in just shaping our society. So, I always do a Socratic seminar on the Brown versus the Board of Education decision, but Malcolm Gladwell has a podcast on revisionist history, and it talks about the impact of the Brown case on Black educators, and how over 100,000 Black teachers and principals were fired as a result of that case. And so, we talk about that in my class and we talk about how that has impacted where we are right now with teacher shortages and educator diversity, and so that is always powerful for me.
I've had students that really sit with that as we just kind of grapple with one of the ways that we can try to get more people to become teachers. And they really realize, they're like, "Mr. Smith, you're the first Black teacher I've ever had." These are white students where they didn't realize it, but for my students of color, it was like, they knew it all the time, you know? And these are now students that are like, "Wow. We realize how important it is to have this educator diversity," and they understood how impactful it could be.
I had Asian American students who really became empowered by that to say, like, "Mr. Smith, you really have connected with us and caused us to realize how important it is for us to have Asian educators, for us to have Asian American studies courses." So, when students have been able to really transcend the content and make personal connections and really just become very passionate about these topics, that really makes me feel great, because that's ultimately what I want. I want them to learn skills in my classroom that can help them create the world that they want to live in.
Aaron Chapin:
That's fantastic.
Jeff Ney:
My goodness.
Aaron Chapin:
I know, I know.
Jeff Ney:
Being around young people all the time, what advice would you give students, especially those students of color who are considering a career in education, what advice would you give them?
Leon Smith:
I would say that you can certainly think about the teacher that you love the most, and emulate many of those strategies, and try to have the same impact that they had on you. But I would also say that you can be the teacher you never had.
Aaron Chapin:
That's right.
Jeff Ney:
Wow. Great advice.
Leon Smith:
Right? You can become the educator that you wish you had and you can do the things that you wish somebody would have done for you. And so, I really want students to understand that education is something that does not have to be static, that it is something that you as the educator can be dynamic, and you can create classroom environments and relationships with students that can empower that next generation. So, just because you didn't have a great experience doesn't mean that this has to be something that you don't do. You can now get into it and say, "You know what? Here's what I needed. This is what I wish it would have been, and now I'm going to become an educator to create that environment that I wish I never had."
Aaron Chapin:
That's fantastic.
Jeff Ney:
Oh, my goodness.
Aaron Chapin:
Great advice. Jeff, Pop quiz time.
Jeff Ney:
Is it pop quiz time?
Aaron Chapin:
Got to make it fast.
Jeff Ney:
I've been lucky enough to have a conversation with you, or see you as a guest speaker at our Education Policy and Law Center, about the hopes that we have for education. So, if everybody listening here didn't see what you have hopeful for the future of education isn't already there, what kind of things would you change, whether it's policy or whether it's a concept that would make hope even more for the future of education?
Leon Smith:
Hm. I would hope that education would get the type of prestige that it deserves. I think that it also should be something where our teachers and our adults in our communities are telling students, like, "Yes, you should do this," instead of saying, "Don't do that." I think that's happening too much. I don't think it's necessarily always coming from a negative place, but we really need to really let our young people know that this is a great profession to enter.
And I also think that we should let people know that the qualities you need to become an educator are high quality, high thinking type things, and it's not something where it's just like, "Oh, yes, I go teach." No. You need people at the top of their game to become educators, and the people that are doing it are people that have tremendous skill sets that we need to exalt. So, I don't think we're always doing that, and I think we're just kind of saying, "Okay, yeah, you can become a teacher." No, we need to say, like, "This is somebody that's going to change the world," and these are people that have created some of the best leaders our country has ever seen.
Jeff Ney:
That's why being a teacher's the greatest job in the world.
Aaron Chapin:
That's why he's Teacher of the Year.
Jeff Ney:
That is why he's Teacher of the Year.
Aaron Chapin:
We could have gone on for a lot longer. We had a bunch of questions still to go. We're going to have to cut it out. We've got to get moving on. Sorry.
Jeff Ney:
Oh.
Aaron Chapin:
Sorry, Jeff.
Jeff Ney:
You're always the fun police.
Aaron Chapin:
I am the fun police. Unfortunately, that is all of our time today. Our guest today has been the 2025 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year, Leon Smith. It has been an absolute joy having you here. We can't wait to talk with you more down the road, hopefully. Maybe we can squeeze you in at a House of Delegates for you to share some of your thoughts with everybody, but thank you very much for coming in. Really great to have you here.
Leon Smith:
I appreciate it. Thank you so much.
Aaron Chapin:
Congratulations. And thanks for all of our listeners for tuning in. Got some feedback for us, questions, comments, need advice from-
Jeff Ney:
I know who.
Aaron Chapin:
Leon.
Jeff Ney:
That'd be my [inaudible 00:25:30]
Aaron Chapin:
Be way better off talking to Leon than us. You got to email us at podcast@PSEA.org. I'm Aaron Chapin.
Jeff Ney:
And I'm Jeff Ney.
Rachael West:
And I'm Rachael West.
Aaron Chapin:
And you have been listening to Duty Free Lunch. Bye for now.
Voiceover:
You've been listening to Duty Free Lunch with the Pennsylvania State Education Association. Visit PSEA.org/podcast to learn more, and don't forget to subscribe and share. Paid for by the Pennsylvania State Education Association.