ACTFL Awards 2024 National Language Teacher of the Year

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ACTFL is honored to announce Alicia Dallman Shoemaker as the 2024 National Language Teacher of the Year. The award presentation was held during the Opening General Session of the 2023 ACTFL Convention & World Languages Expo on Friday, November 17 at McCormick Place West in Chicago, IL.

Alicia Dallman Shoemaker is the District Department Chair, PLC Leader, and a World Language Educator with Elkhorn Public Schools in Elkhorn, NE. Dallman Shoemaker is the 2023 Central States Languages for All Teacher of the Year and the 2022 Nebraska International Language Association Teacher of the Year. She holds an Education Specialist Degree and a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Doane University, a Linguistics Specialty with Advanced Spanish and Novice German from Universidad de Cantabria in Spain, and a BA in Spanish and English Education from Nebraska Wesleyan University. She is also President of the Malaika Foundation; a Modern Language Methods Instructor: Department of Education at Nebraska Wesleyan University; and serves on a variety of leadership committees at the local, state, and national levels.

The award for the ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year elevates the status of the language teaching profession at the state, regional, and national levels by creating opportunities for recognizing the most accomplished members of the profession. The Teacher of the Year becomes a national spokesperson for the language profession to further demonstrate the critical importance of learning languages and cultures to the general public.

"We congratulate Alicia on being named 2024 ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year," said Marty Abbott, ACTFL Interim Executive Director. "I applaud her unwavering commitment to her students and the field of language education. I eagerly anticipate our collaboration as she takes on the significant responsibility of ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year during a pivotal time for the profession."

Learn more about the ACTFL Teacher of the Year Program.

The four finalists for the annual ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year Award representing the other geographic regions of the U.S. were:

• Claudia Decker: Nashua High North, Nashua, NH — Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (NECTFL)
  
  
• Benjamin Fisher-Rodriguez: Bothell High School, Bothell, WA — Pacific Northwest Council for Languages (PNCFL)
  
  
• Natalie Lalagos: Kealakehe High School, Kailua-Kona, HI — Southwest Conference on Language Teaching (SWCOLT)
  
  
• Ke Peng: Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY — Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT)

About ACTFL:

Providing vision, leadership and support for quality teaching and learning of languages, ACTFL is an individual membership organization of more than 13,000 language educators and administrators from elementary through graduate education, as well as government and industry. Since its founding in 1967, ACTFL has become synonymous with innovation, quality, and reliability in meeting the changing needs of language educators and their learners. It is where the world's educators, businesses, and government agencies go to advance the practice of language learning.

ACTFL's work as a trusted, independent center of excellence empowers educators to prepare learners for success in a 21^st century global society; helps government agencies build language capacity in the U.S. and abroad; and connects businesses with the resources and relationships they need to succeed.

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SOURCE ACTFL