Deborah Varga, OWLA President 2025-2026
Spanish Teacher, McKinley Senior High School

Hello, my fellow OWLA colleagues!  I am so excited to write these welcome-back-to-school greetings as we prepare for our year of OWLA professional development opportunities!  As always, we are here for YOU and to support one another during these often challenging times in world language education.  I am beginning my 31st year of teaching Spanish and am filled with encouragement that we continue to be a powerful state organization, complete  with trailblazing world language educators who represent Ohio locally, nationally, and globally. 

Please register for our next professional development opportunity on Saturday, October 18, 2025, at Buckeye Valley High School in Delaware, OH.  We will offer our OWLA Fall Workshops: Real Language, Real Connections, featuring our own Professional Development Chair, Alexis Blum, who is presenting during Session 1: Building Intercultural Communication Skills Using Authentic Resources (Central States Extension Workshop) based on the workshop offered by Lesley Grahn at Central States 2025.  We are also pleased to have Melissa Dalton, Michigan World Language Association President-Elect, presenting Session 2: Proficiency “Glow Up”: Building Competency in Lesson Planning for the Next Generation. 

As this is the fall issue of The Cardinal newsletter for this school year, please consider submitting an article for an upcoming issue—even if you have not written one before!  ANY OWLA member can submit articles, and we welcome all topics related to world language education.

It is also essential to begin planning to join us for our annual OWLA Spring Conference, March 19-21, 2026, at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus, Ohio! We will have more information regarding conference registration and hotel availability soon.  We eagerly await the spirit of collegiality and collaboration that we know this conference will bring.  OWLA is extremely excited to have Bryce Hedstrom as our OWLA26 keynote speaker. You can learn more about Bryce at https://www.brycehedstrom.com/.

Finally, I want to thank you personally for being a member of this organization. It truly warms my heart to know that you are dedicated to continuing professional development and the world language education profession, and most importantly, our students!