Beth Hanlon, OFLA Executive Recorder and Editor of The Cardinal
Spanish Teacher, Oberlin High School

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year!  I hope your year started off well!  

As a member of the OFLA board, I can tell you that the board is working hard again this year to bring more exceptional opportunities to members.  But, if you don’t mind me asking, how are you engaging with OFLA?  If you are in need of ideas, here is a list of a few!

1. Follow OFLA on Social Media

At the August board retreat, the OFLA board discussed how to bump up our engagement with members via social media. We are making an effort to be more present on our social media platforms. You can find us on Facebook, @oflaohio on Instagram and @OFLA1 on X (Twitter). Make sure to follow us to like and share our posts!

2. Submit an Article to The Cardinal

I might be a little biased but writing an article for OFLA’s newsletter is an amazing way to be engaged with your professional organization! We receive and publish articles on so many topics. OFLA members write about activities they are doing or have done in their classes, trips they have taken, as well as professional development they have attended. You can visit https://the-ofla-cardinal.org/ to see what other members have written about. Watch for emails and social media posts about when articles are being accepted. Don’t forget to read the articles when they are published!

3. Get Involved in an OFLA Committee

Each year OFLA committee chairs look for members to serve on their committee in order to work on their committee’s goals for the year. Committee members have to be approved by the OFLA board and this is usually done at the August retreat. However, some committees might still need members so it won’t hurt to reach out to a committee chair. A list of committee chairs can be found on the OFLA website: https://ofla-online.org/ofla-board/. If you are not able to join this year, let the committee chair know you are interested in joining next year! 

4. Join the OFLA Board

Each year, the OFLA president elect works to put together a slate of candidates for our winter election. Have you ever thought of running to be a committee chair or an executive board position? 

I know it can sound daunting! I joined the board around year ten of my teaching career. I will admit how intimidating it was to join the board full of teachers I looked up to but it has turned out to be the most rewarding experience of my career. If you have ever considered getting involved in the OFLA board, reach out to president elect Deborah Varga at varga_d@ccsdistrict.org to see what positions are available for the 2025-2026 school year!

5. Present at the Spring Conference

The spring OFLA conference is our “culminating activity.” The OFLA board, especially the president, works hard all year planning and preparing for it. We rely on our membership to submit session proposals for it in order to make the conference a well-rounded experience for all attendees. Have you ever thought of presenting something you are doing in your classroom? Just like joining the OFLA board, this can be daunting but it is a great way to “level up” your conference experience. By the time this article comes out, it might be too late to submit for the 2025 conference, but I challenge you to be on the watch for something to submit as a session proposal for the 2026 conference!