Benefits of an OFLA Membership

Teri Wiechart, OFLA Membership Chair
Delphos Jefferson High School, Retired

OFLA has so much to offer to language teachers in Ohio. We try to be friendly and helpful to each other. We aim to provide information and services that are needed and desired. We also attempt to contain costs so we can keep dues and conference fees as low as possible.

Here is a quick overview of some of what you receive for your OFLA dues:

CONFERENCE.  Though our spring conference this year will once again not look like previous conferences, it will still offer superior presentations and workshops. Our STATE conference rivals many REGIONAL and NATIONAL conferences. It is as large and as diverse as Central States, and it is much more affordable than national conferences, like ACTFL. Though many of you join only if you are going to the conference, there is so much more. I challenge you to use your membership for the entire school year instead of just the last few months.

ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.  We continue to offer more diverse workshops that are included in your OFLA membership fee such as the Incorporating Intercultural Learning Into The Language Curriculum workshop offered in February 2021. We will strive to bring important and timely topics for our members. We have also collaborated with the Ohio Department of Education to provide help to teachers working their way through the current pandemic.

GRADUATE CREDIT OPTION.  OFLA offers credit through Ashland University at an affordable price, with reasonable amounts of and personally useful work to be done in addition to attending the conference and/or workshops.  

ADVOCACY.   This committee works tirelessly behind the scenes, staying on top of legislation at the local, state, and national levels. There are many subtle attacks on world language offerings in our schools, and our Advocacy Chair stays aware of and provides help for those schools reducing and eliminating various language programs. For teachers who feel that their programs are “safe,” it happens that a language is eliminated with no indication, nor time to prepare. This committee is working to help them be forewarned and forearmed. (Personal experience, when I retired in 2010, French was eliminated and has not been reinstated.  I was informed of the fait-accompli.)

THE CARDINAL.  This newsletter is published three times per year electronically with helpful information and suggestions to help you in your teaching.  

Some of OFLA’s SPECIAL INTEREST COMMITTEES:

Technology—This committee provides you with the listserv and useful technologies that can be used in most any classroom. They provide helpful Tech Tips every Tuesday on the listserv.

Beginning Teachers—This committee creates a network at the conference, on Facebook, and on the listserv to give support and guidance to new teachers, many of whom are the sole member of the department.  

Teacher Education and Licensure—This committee is charged with keeping up to date with current and changing licensure requirements in the state of Ohio, as well as national accrediting agencies. With new leadership this year, the committee has many new goals to help professors who are teaching students preparing to become world language teachers. 

STATE CONSULTANTS.  The two ODE representatives are also active in OFLA. They keep us abreast of what is happening at the state level, provide numerous sessions at conferences and provide many other opportunities for professional growth for all teachers in Ohio. OFLA collaborates on many initiatives, including updating the Learning Standards for World Languages and Cultures and the Model Curriculum and providing weekly online professional development.

WEBSITE.  This is ever changing and is full of useful information: http://www.ofla-online.org.

LISTSERV.  It is busy enough to get your questions answered, but not so busy that it is overwhelming. Join at https://ofla-online.org/ofla-listserv/.

RENEWAL Due to the pandemic and all of the chaos that occurred last spring—including the cancellation of the annual conference—The OFLA board chose to extend the membership year from September 1 to January 1, giving everyone an extra four months of membership. We still need many of you to renew for the 2021 year. You can go online right now at http://ofla.wildapricot.org and renew for this year, the next three years, or for your lifetime.

DUES will be the same as last year. The OFLA board works very hard to find more cost-effective ways of operating and ways of saving money so dues and conference fees do not have to be increased every year.

Please choose the appropriate membership level. We operate on the honor system now, and would like to continue doing so.

Professional members $55/one year, $135 / three years

This level of membership applies to anyone who has a full-time job, and this supersedes any other classification into which one might fit. This applies to those who work and attend grad school.

There is an option to make your payments recurring, so you don’t have to think about it each year. Choose 1-year-Automatic Renewal membership level.

Student Members $10 / one year

This level of membership is for full-time students only, graduate or undergraduate. It does apply to the time of student teaching. This does not apply to full-time working teachers who are also in school (choose Professional membership instead), nor to part-time teachers/part-time students (choose Associate membership instead). Please supply the name of your university.

Lifetime Members $500 / for your lifetime

Enjoy all the benefits of professional membership with never needing to renew or pay again.

OFLA membership is a bargain compared to other organizations.

Membership numbers have fallen over the past 10 years. There are many and varied reasons for this, but we would like to appeal to every current and retired language teacher in the state of Ohio.

Finally, what can you give back to OFLA?

• • Join a committee.
  • Present at a conference.
  • Volunteer at a conference.
  • Mentor a new teacher.
  • Contribute to the listserv.
  • Write an article for The Cardinal.
  • Provide information for the website.

Stay safe and healthy. Let us know what we can do to help you in your professional journey.