Shasha Gibbs, OFLA Technology Integration Committee Chair
Medina High School

Angie Drerup is currently a Spanish teacher at Buckeye High School in Medina. She earned a BS.Ed. In Spanish Secondary Education from Ohio University in 1994, a MS.Ed. in Classroom Guidance for Teachers from the University of Akron in 2000. She recently completed 20 semester hours of Spanish graduate courses at Cleveland State University for qualification in teaching CCP (College Credit Plus) Spanish courses. Angie just started her 23rd year at Buckeye, where she has taught levels 1-4, an exploratory class at the Jr. High. She recently began teaching Spanish 2020 as an Adjunct Professor for Cuyahoga Community College at Buckeye. She has served as Fine Arts Department Head, LPDC chairperson, secretary and committee member; Senior Class Advisor for several years and a Mentor Teacher for two years. She has organized and led four overnight student trips to Fiesta Latina in Chicago and two overseas summer student trips to Spain, France and Costa Rica. She is a member of AATSP, CSCTFL and OFLA, and she is looking forward to serving on the Technology Integration Committee. Angie is pictured below:

Leah Henson received her master’s degree from Miami University in 1999, with a focus in Spanish linguistics. She is currently a Senior Lecturer on Miami’s Regional campuses, where she has also worked with eLearning as an Instructional Designer. In 2008, she piloted the inverted or “flipped” classroom approach in her Intensive Basic Spanish courses, which then led to the development of hybrid (2010) and online (2012) language courses. Leah has authored and maintains five online courses and assists faculty in training, course set-up, and course facilitation. She was also instrumental in creating a modified program for students with language learning-difficulties and revamping the writing component of the basic language courses to a proficiency-oriented approach. Most recently, she has worked to transition her language courses from a grammar-based approach to one that blends technology and performance-based activities to build students’ language proficiency. Leah has presented numerous sessions at OFLA, CSCTFL, and ACTFL and enjoys sharing information and collaborating with fellow educators!

Kara Humphrey teaches German and French and is also TESOL Certified. She works at Beavercreek High School. This year, she teaches German levels 1-AP5. She is in her 21st year of teaching. During the summer she enjoys teaching at Camp OFLA.

Alice Pamies is a World Language teacher at Beaumont School in Cleveland Heights. She has been teaching for 25+ years and remains interested in new ways to increase her students’proficiency in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Freetech4teachers is her favorite blog/website, and she is not afraid to “try it and see what happens.” She looks forward to learning about and trying out tech tools that can help teachers be more efficient and/or help students be more productive and proficient.

Alexandra Petrak will be starting her 10th year of teaching and her first year at Buckeye Local Schools in Medina, Ohio. She will be teaching high school French this year after teaching elementary French and Spanish in Westlake City Schools for the past 5 years. Prior to that, she taught lower level French and Spanish at Strongsville High School. Alexandra graduated from the University of Akron with her undergraduate degrees in Education, French, and Spanish. She earned her Master’s degree in Educational Technology from Baldwin Wallace University in 2014. Alexandra is grateful to wonderful teachers, co-workers, administrators, friends, and family who have inspired and helped her along her journey as a teacher.  Her favorite quote from Babe Ruth is: “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.”

Hong Zenisek teaches Chinese at Euclid High School. She has taught in five schools in the Euclid City Schools District ranging from elementary to high school levels. She has been teaching Chinese in public schools for eight years. She has also taught at the Solon Chinese School for fifteen years. Previously, she taught middle school English in China. On educational technology, she has presented at local and national conferences, and she has published on teaching Chinese overseas and using technology in classrooms. Hong holds a B.A. in English from John Carroll University, a Master’s in Education, and a Juris Doctor from Cleveland State University.