Martha E. Castañeda , OFLA President

Do you know an outstanding teacher who is deserving to represent Ohio as the 2016 Teacher of the Year? Do you want this deserving teacher to be recognized at the 2016 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages CSCTFL/OFLA 2016 Conference? The Ohio Foreign Language Association (OFLA) Board is pleased to announce a call for nominations for the OFLA 2016 TOY. The Teacher of the Year Award is designed to recognize very accomplished language teachers that follow best practices, both state and national standards, as well as proficiency guidelines. The award recognizes teachers employing best practices and excellence in language teaching and learning. Nominate a well deserving colleague or self-nominate for this award.

General Criteria:

Candidates must be full-time world language pre-K-12 teachers or Post-secondary instructors or professors who spend at least 50% of their time in direct teaching during the year of application with an expectation of teaching for at least two additional years.

To be considered for the TOY award, one must be a currently active OFLA member and a member for at least 3 years, of which 2 must have been in the previous 2 years. We accept both self-nominations and other nominations. A nominee can be a member of the OFLA board except for the president.

Requirements:

Create a portfolio with the following items:

1. One-page letter of recommendation from supervisor.

2. One-page letter of recommendation from a current student.

3. One-page letter of recommendation from a current or former parent or student .

4. Curriculum Vitae/Resume of no more than five (5) pages.

5. Five hundred word personal statement of the value of learning languages and developing cultural competence for all learners.

6. Completed Commitment form (available on the ACTFL website at http://www.actfl.org) which is a statement of willingness to participate in all required activities associated with the award including:

a. A commitment to attend the ACTFL Annual Convention (hotel, registration,
and transportation are paid by ACTFL); and if selected as the regional winner,

b. Willingness to serve as a spokesperson for the profession, based on availability

7. Samples of Student Work (two individual samples, one page and one-sided only) that reflect the goals of the State and National Standards for Learning Languages. Samples can be paper or digital format and all personal identifying information should be removed.

8. A 10-20 minute unedited video. At this state level that video does not need
to be professionally videographed. Please note that if selected you will need to record a 20 minute video.

Deadline:

November 1st, 2015 Candidate portfolio due to committee

December 2015 OFLA TOY notified

January 1st, 2016 OFLA TOY portfolio due to CSC for regional competition

March 10th, 2016 OFLA TOY candidate attends CSCTFL/OFLA Conference and interviews at conference

March 11th, 2016 OFLA TOY candidate honored at CSCTFL/OFLA awards ceremony

May 31st, 2016 CSC TOY portfolio due at ACTFL for national competition

November 19, 2016 CSC TOY attends and competes at ACTFL national competition

Committee: Martha E. Castañeda (Committee Chair), Parthena Draggett (TOY 2015), Martha Halemba (TOY 2011), Amy Haney (TOY 2012), Debbie McCorkle (TOY 2010), Alan Turner (TOY 2014), and Rebecca Wiehe (TOY 2013)