Pastor of Saint Bernadette Catholic Church in Scottsdale, Don Kline, reminded parishioners of the santity of all human life. | Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
Pastor of Saint Bernadette Catholic Church in Scottsdale, Don Kline, reminded parishioners of the santity of all human life. | Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
Washoe County recently issued the following announcement.
A Washoe County School District (WCSD) assistant principal has won a national award which recognizes the work of professionals who advocate for world languages in education. Vaughn Middle School Assistant Principal Ryan Smith M.Ed. received the Southwest Conference on Language Teaching (SWCOLT) “Friend of the Profession” Award at a recent regional conference.
“Language teachers and students are some of my very favorite people in the entire world,” said Smith, who has worked for WCSD for 21 years. “This award is a huge honor and I could not have done this work without the support of my colleagues in the Washoe County School District.”
“Ryan Smith is an amazing world language educator and having him at Vaughn to support our International Baccalaureate Program is a perfect fit,” said Amanda Lobkowicz, principal at Vaughn Middle School. “Ryan also has the ability to support our English Learner students and all Vaughn families with his language background.”
During his time at WCSD, Smith has been active in the language education field: He served as co-chair for the rewrite/revision of the Nevada Academic Content Standards for World Languages; advocated for and implemented the Seal of Biliteracy program statewide after it was passed into law; and co-authored an Advanced Placement Spanish textbook for the largest language textbook publisher in the United States. He also served as president for PLAN (Professional Language Association of Nevada) for three years. He has also taught all levels of Spanish Language at the high school level.
“All students should be given the opportunity to learn a new language or become proficient in their home language,” said Smith. “I will forever be a lifelong advocate for world language programs in our schools.”
SWCOLT is one of five regional world language associations in the U.S. and members include all language teachers from Hawaii, California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Texas, and Oklahoma.
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up