Members of the Kentucky World Language Association (KWLA), from left, Awards Committee Chair Ben Hawkins, Awards Banquet Host Sharon Mattingly, 2015 KWLA Outstanding Administrator Award winner Julie Clark (Daviess County) President Sara Merideth and President-Elect Lucas Gravitt gather at the 2015 KWLA Awards Banquet in Louisville. KWLA is accepting nominations now for its annual awards, which recognize teachers, administrators and others who are strong promoters of world languages.
Photo submitted by Catherine Del Valle
Every year in September, the Kentucky World Language Association (KWLA) holds its annual fall conference. It is the largest professional learning experience focused solely on improving and enhancing the impact of world language teachers and world language education in the state.
One of the key highlights of the conference is the awards banquet, which is the moment when KWLA announces the winners of several awards given out each year by the organization. KWLA is seeking nominations for Outstanding New Teacher, Outstanding Post-Secondary Teacher, Outstanding Teacher (K-16), Outstanding Administrator, Lifetime Achievement, and Amici Linguarum – or “Friend of Languages.”
The person who is named Outstanding Teacher will go on to the regional Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT) in the spring of the to vie for the title of SCOLT Teacher of the Year. The SCOLT winner then goes on to the national level at the annual American Council of the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Convention & Expo in November in the hopes of being named ACTFL’s next National Language Teacher of the Year.
KWLA also recognizes education professionals whose primary responsibilities and duties lie outside the area of world language teaching. The KWLA Outstanding Administrator Award recognizes a Kentucky administrator from any level of instruction K-16 who has shown great levels of support to world language teachers and the work they do. For those who work outside the teaching or education profession yet still show enormous support for world language teaching, KWLA recognizes these individuals or organizations with the Amici Linguarum – or “Friend of Languages” – Award.
Founded in 1974, the Kentucky World Language Association is dedicated to the improvement and expansion of the teaching and learning of all languages at all levels of instruction. The KWLA Awards Program was designed to further advance the group’s mission to better serve the world language teachers and students of Kentucky.
The awards nomination process is under the direction of the KWLA Awards Committee Chair Ben Hawkins, a French teacher at East Carter County High School. Information about the nomination process can be found on the KWLA website by clicking here.
In general, candidates for each of the awards must submit to the awards committee a combination of the following: letters of recommendation from colleagues, administrators, parents and/or students; along with a few other documents, such as a curriculum vitae and an essay on the importance of developing linguistic and cultural competencies. The deadline for nominations has been extended to July 1.
For any questions, problems or concerns about the awards nomination process, contact the KWLA Awards Committee at awards@kwla.org.
Leave A Comment