EVOLUTION OF AN EDUCATOR: Reflections on my final year in the K-12 language classroom

Posted on September 3, 2018 by Cardinal Editor

Becky Searls, Instructional Coach & Educational Consultant, Elevating Educators; Former Spanish Teacher at Upper Arlington City Schools

I recently left my job as a Spanish teacher! It was a bittersweet decision, because I absolutely love sharing languages, Spanish-speaking cultures, and my own travel abroad experiences with my students. The constraints that go along with a career in K-12 classroom teaching, however, were preventing me from finding long-term happiness in my work.

You may be wondering if I tried anything before throwing in the towel, and I can assure you I did! The year before last, during the 2016–2017 academic year, I took a self-designed traveling sabbatical and got to visit schools all over the world, making it to 13 countries in 12 months to learn about a variety of education systems and helping teachers facilitate meaningful global connections for their students! While it was an invigorating break from typical classroom routine to see what teachers around the world were doing, I found that my sabbatical did not re-invigorate me. Continue reading →

Posted in Fall 2018, General, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

A Year in Review…And the Year to Come!

Posted on June 13, 2018 by Cardinal Editor

Beth Hanlon, 2017-2018 OFLA President
Spanish Teacher, Oberlin High School

Dear OFLA colleagues,

I hope your 2017-2018 school year is drawing to a close on a positive note! I also hope this summer will leave you refreshed and rejuvenated to head into the 2018-2019 school year.

I would like to take this opportunity to look back at the 2017-2018 OFLA year. It began with the August board retreat at the Cleveland Marriott. During the retreat, board members discussed and planned for the year as well as created goals. Each board member has been working on accomplishing their goals during this school year based on their board position. In creating these goals, we considered the data that was provided to us from the OFLA member survey that was available in May 2017. Continue reading →

Posted in Letter from the President, Summer 2018, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Messages from the President-Elect

Posted on June 13, 2018 by Cardinal Editor

Milton Alan Turner, President Elect
French and Spanish Teacher, Saint Ignatius High School

2018 Elections

I would like to thank our outgoing OFLA board members Debbie Varga for serving as our Public Relations and Advocacy Chair, Kerry Parker for serving as Secondary Language Learning Committee Chair, and Shasha Gibbs for serving as Technology Integration Committee Chair. Following our elections earlier this year, we will be adding a few new and familiar faces to the OFLA board. Even though Lucas Hoffman is ending his term as Immediate Past President, we are fortunate to continue to benefit from his wealth of experience and wisdom as he will continue to serve as Executive Treasurer. Richard Emch will continue serving as Parliamentarian and Bylaws Committee Chair. We welcome back Cheryl Johnson from Denison University as Executive Vice President. Cheryl previously Continue reading →

Posted in Executive News, General, Summer 2018, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Seal of Biliteracy: My School’s Experience

Posted on June 13, 2018 by Cardinal Editor

Lesley Chapman, OFLA Executive Vice President 
French Teacher, Sycamore High School

When Ohio adopted the Seal of Biliteracy in late fall, 2017, it joined the ranks of a total of 32 states recognizing students who achieve a high level of proficiency in listening, reading, writing, and speaking in two languages. This means that the class of 2018 is the first graduating class from Ohio that can add this honor to their high school transcripts.

At my high school, Sycamore High School in Cincinnati, we decided to take the plunge, and in April we tested our juniors and senior advanced World Language students for the Seal. There are multiple tests you can give to prove proficiency, and our school chose the STAMP4s test. We tested in French, Spanish, and Chinese. Our Latin teacher tested his students using ALIRA. Continue reading →

Posted in Summer 2018, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

2018 OFLA Award Winners

Posted on June 13, 2018 by Cardinal Editor

Lucas Hoffman, Past President
French and Spanish Teacher, Sylvania Schools

Congratulations to these 2018 OFLA Award winners! They were recognized on Friday, April 6, 2018, at the annual conference in Cleveland, Ohio. A detailed description on how to nominate for 2019 awards can be found at the end of this article and on our website, http://www.ofla-online.org.

 

Continue reading →

Posted in Awards, General, Summer 2018, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

On the Summer Menu…Advantages of your OFLA membership!

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Cardinal Editor

Julie Frye, OFLA Membership Chair
French Teacher, Lexington High School French

Oh là là! The membership speaks and the OFLA board listens! You want Professional Development during the summer break and you want it in various regions throughout the state-That is exactly what we are bringing to you. I hope you have been receiving the emails promoting our PD offerings taking place around Ohio this summer. Each event promises to be energizing, educational and beneficial to your students (and YOU) when you return for the 2018-19 school year.

But wait, there’s more! Did you know OFLA offers a number of awards, grants & scholarships each year, which we distribute at our annual conference? We currently offer 9 award categories for OFLA members, as well as 4 categories for non-members. It’s not too early to start thinking about nominating a deserving colleague (or asking someone to nominate you). Awards & scholarships are available to members, university students, and new-to-the-classroom teachers, and those more experienced who may be searching for a way to immerse themselves in the culture of their target language. All of the info can be found at our website, ofla-online.org. Continue reading →

Posted in General, Membership, Summer 2018, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

In Full Bloom…Winding Down and Winding Up

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Cardinal Editor

Holly Haputa, Professional Development Chair
Spanish Teacher, Avon Lake High School

Whew! We made it!

Like you, I love the summer for a variety of reasons. Time with family and friends, the smell of fresh cut grass, focusing on a hobby, and enjoying that morning coffee without your mind racing with all things teacher. I also get time to check out a few new strategies for the new year. I invite you join us this summer for one of our offerings and connect with colleagues around the state, check our events page https://tinyurl.com/OFLAEvents. Our CSCTFL digital extension workshop can be completed poolside https://tinyurl.com/ICCWkshp. Finally, the ODE is offering a two day institute on proficiency implementation/enhancement July 10-11, 2018.

Please connect with us on the OFLA Google group, Facebook, and Twitter to stay informed of upcoming events. Thank you for all you do for students. I hope you find time to decompress doing something you love and I hope you check out something new you could add to your classroom next year.

Posted in Professional Development, Summer 2018, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

What Will You Say?

Posted on June 11, 2018 by Cardinal Editor

Kerry Parker, OFA Secondary Language Learning Chair
French Teacher, Edison High School

It is a topic that is once again coming back to the attention of educators, policymakers and journalists alike – we have a national shortage of teachers. And not just a national shortage, but it is hitting us harder and harder here in Ohio. Several articles have been published in the last few years to draw attention to the growing shortage. But this topic has come at me from multiple sides in the last few months and got me really thinking about the depth of the issue and my role as an educator in finding a solution. Continue reading →

Posted in Committee News, Summer 2018, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Future of World Language Education

Posted on June 11, 2018 by Cardinal Editor

Denise Broda, OFLA Scholarship Chair
Spanish Teacher, Wooster High School

I had the pleasure of getting to meet this year’s conference scholarship winners in April at our annual conference, and that experience left me feeling very optimistic about the future of our profession. This year’s winners were responsible, professional, and enthusiastic about attending workshops and sessions and networking with colleagues. When I saw dedicated young people multitasking while they studied or writing papers at the same time as they worked at the hospitality desk, I knew that they were well-suited to be educators, because multitasking is what we do every day. I am proud to introduce those young professionals: Continue reading →

Posted in Committee News, Summer 2018, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Central States Conference for Teaching of Foreign Language (CSCTFL) and OFLA Joint Conference

Posted on June 11, 2018 by Cardinal Editor

More information is available at csctfl.org!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment