Teacher Feature: Mrs. Progar Teaches US Government and Community Citizenship

Mrs. Emma Progar is a US Government and Global Community Citizenship teacher, and next semester she will also be teaching the Signature class. Before working at Crofton High, Mrs. Progar worked at Barley Middle school for a year and also worked at Mariana Bracetti Academy, which is a high school in North Philadelphia. 

Mrs. Progar was first interested in joining the staff at Crofton High because of its similarities to her old high school, “Crofton High Shares many similarities to the high school that I attended back in the day! So, in many ways, working at Crofton high feels like I’m coming home.” Mrs. Progar also expressed her feelings about the community, and how welcoming it is, “There is a sense of enthusiasm, kindness, and inclusion that can be felt in this community”

Mrs. Progar went to school at both Penn State University and Lock Haven University for two degrees, “My first degree is in Political Science from Penn State University” and, “I got my second degree from Lock Haven University in Social studies secondary education.”

Growing up, Mrs. Progar said she didn’t always plan on being a teacher, “As a high schooler I had ambitions of being a lawyer, a lobbyist, a campaign manager, or a politician” said Mrs. Progar. She eventually came to the conclusion of becoming a teacher because “The moments where I felt most connected to what I was doing were the moments that I was sharing my love of learning.” Mrs. Progar explains that becoming a teacher was the best of both worlds, learning, and government. 

When reflecting on her favorite experiences as a teacher, Mrs. Progar said she likes to think back to lessons where students can interact with their learning, “I love giving my students the opportunity to ‘get their hands dirty’ with the material” said Mrs. Progar. “It is amazing to watch my students discover THEIR love of learning through hands-on activities.” 

Freshmen, Mackenzie Davis, said that she also enjoys Mrs. Progar’s interactive lessons, “ “in her class it is very interactive and she always keeps us engaged”  Davis also describes Mrs. Progar as, “one of the nicest teachers I know” and feels that she is lucky to have her as one of her teachers this semester. 

9th grader Grace Grizzell has Mrs. Progar for Global Community Citizenship and also has her for the head of SGA. Grizell says that Mrs. Progar can always make lessons enjoyable even during online lessons and “Mrs. Progar is super accepting of everyone’s differences and is overall just an amazing teacher and person.” 

Mrs. Progar said she is excited to be at Crofton High, and she “can’t wait to see how our school grows in the coming years.”