I consider myself to be a very lucky man when I think about my career in the world of foreign languages.  It has been an exciting career and as my NYSAFLT Presidency comes to a close, I realize that this experience has been an added bonus. I was in fourth grade when I decided that I wanted to be a teacher because of Miss Gennevieve Baxter.  She was my inspiration.  Just out of college and so full of dedication, Miss Baxter set me off in a direction that changed my life.  I was set except that I didn’t know what I would teach until others set off spark in me which still blazes each day in my classroom.  It was Ms. Claire Colosimo and Ms. Gloria Dybas, my two high school Spanish teachers, who helped me to know that teaching Spanish was for me.  It was because of the fine example that they set that I knew that teaching high school Spanish was for me. I began my teaching career in a Catholic school for girls upon graduating college.  It was a wonderful way to begin to learn about the classroom.  My students were motivated and they made me recognize that working with young adults is a challenging but wonderful career.  After several years, I moved into public education and have spent the last 24 years at New Hartford High School.  When I became of member of this department, I became a part of a very collegial team of professionals who are leaders in foreign language education.  I am proud to now be the chairman of this department.  We are fortunate to offer to our students a very rigorous program of four different languages. Shortly after becoming a teacher, I attended my first NYSAFLT Annual Meeting.  I was hooked from the start.  I was very impressed by the leadership of its officers, by the quality of workshop offerings and by the kindness of the membership. NYSAFLT became an important part of my career as many of you know.  This year I have had the wonderful opportunity to give back to an organization that has given so much to me.    I am proud to have served NYSAFLT. I thank you NYSAFLT and all your members for making my year as President of our great organization one of the best of my career!

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Joanne O'Toole

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Paul Sabatino

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Jan Strauss

In eighth grade, Sister Denise Marie taught us to say the sign of the cross in French. That inauspicious foray into Languages Other Than English was followed by ninth grade Latin at Madonna High School in Niagara Falls. I believe the nun who taught that class had originally taught Latin to Augustus Caesar. Enough said. When I transferred to Niagara-Wheatfield in tenth grade, I switched to German. The enthusiasm of our teacher, Mr. Frank Brusino was contagious. It inspired me to apply for a scholarship that enabled me to go to Ecuador as an exchange student. Yes, I knew they spoke Spanish in Ecuador, but Germany wasn’t one of the available countries. Our student council advisor, Mr. Fred Barone, had been instrumental in getting the scholarship program up and running. He changed my life. What an exciting summer! I was welcomed as a daughter by a family in Guayaquil. I stood on both sides of the equator at once and marveled at snow-covered volcanic peaks. I watched indigenous people streaming down the mountainsides in preparation for the early morning market, their backs laden with everything but the kitchen sink. I discovered that what is polite in one country is rude in another. I was chagrined to see children searching for food in garbage dumps. Soldiers in tanks sent me home from school during a military junta. I learned about the Ecuadorian sense of time the hard way; my family believed a junta imposed 8 PM curfew would allow us to stay out until at least nine. The tanks in the streets seemed to suggest otherwise and we had to climb backyard fences to get home! I saw churches with altars covered in gold and schools where children learned foreign languages in 1st grade. I was hooked. Like so many of you, I developed an insatiable desire to learn about other peoples, their countries, their languages, their customs and cultures. I know first hand that getting to know people in other countries leads to understanding, concern, empathy and love. I cannot imagine a better way to achieve peace! Thus began a lifelong commitment to promoting the study of other languages and all the cultural ramifications that go along with it. NYSAFLT has given me the opportunity to serve on committees, conduct workshops, and advocate for LOTE with an amazing group of colleagues. I encourage each of you to join me in seeking peace through understanding by doing at least one additional thing with NYSAFLT that would be new to you. Never been to the Summer Institute? Make this your year. Curious about lobbying in Albany? Join the Advocacy Committee. Is everyone in your department a member of NYSAFLT? If not, print out membership applications from this website, pass them out at a department meeting, collect them after they are filled out and send them in. Still need ideas? Contact me via this website and I promise to get back with you in our joint pursuit of world understanding and peace. Our work has never been more important! Special thanks to my family for tolerating and even helping me in my pursuits. They are my husband Geoff, son Micah & his wife Beccy, daughter Alicia and her fiancé, Kevin, and the delight of my life, my three-year-old granddaughter Kayla, who just today yelled, “¡Para!” when she wanted me to stop pushing her on the swing. Right on, Kayla!

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Ken Hughes

At one point or another in their lives,  foreign language teachers have been asked "Why did you want to become a language teacher?" Ken's response centers around the inspirational teaching of numerous individuals who made language learning not only practical, but fun. Ken's high school French teacher, Anne Scheffler, showed him how versatile the language could be and proved this by taken him to France in 1993. After arriving at St. Lawrence University, Dr. Peter VanLent and Dr. Roy Caldwell inspired him to begin thinking how he could use his skills as a French speaker in different mediums. Using French in home-made movies, webpages and other student-friendly applications really inspired Ken to be as versatile as possible when teaching the language he loved in his heart. Dr. Jim Shuman showed him how much fun teaching was and Janine Manley, Ken's LOTE Methods Instructor at St. Lawrence encouraged him to join NYSAFLT, a decision he has never regretted. Ken's first teaching job at Mayfield High School found him paired with two ladies who not only knew their craft but knew how to have fun! Suzanne (Baff) Schermerhorn and Pat Sutliff taught Ken the practicality of LOTE teaching and learning and as Ken's newly found "mamans", assisted him in making the most of his time as a new teacher. They also shared just a few laughs along the way. Ken's move to teach French at Lake George, his alma mater, allowed him to flex his wings as an experienced teacher and to begin to infuse what he learned at St. Lawrence with his curriculums. In conjunction with his colleagues, he worked hard to develop a LOTE department website and involve students in language learning that was less than traditional. Lip sync contests, serving lunch completely in French, blind-folding students in the library to practice directions and teaching a lesson about what was in lost and found are just some of the creative ideas he has used to inspire his students to success. Ken has moved on from the LOTE classroom as he has become an Assistant Principal. Many have questioned this move, but Ken has always countered with this rationale: "My time in NYSAFLT as a workshop presenter and consultant teacher have allowed me to meet many wonderful people who value my opinion. What has been most gratifying for me is receiving e-mails, telephone calls or even personal thank yous from those that I have instructed telling me how thankful they are that I have helped them be a better educator. I figure, if I can help others in this way, why not become an administrator and help teachers in my building be stronger, better teachers. Besides, how great is it to have a foreign language advocate in the ranks of administration?" Ken has done numerous workshops at numerous regional and Annual Meetings for NYSAFLT. He is also the creator of this website, serves as the AV Chairman for the Annual Meeting and as Chief Technology Geek for NYSAFLT. NYSAFLT is a family of friends and colleagues that he hopes never to lose. He thanks his wife Courtney for all of her patience in allowing him to pursue his goals. Ken has one daughter, Charlotte who helps him remember what is most important in life.

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Marie Dzielak

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Francesco Fratto

Francesco L. Fratto is a Spanish teacher with over thirteen years of teaching experience at the middle school, high school and college level. In 1993, Mr. Fratto graduated from SUNY New Paltz with a BA in Spanish in Secondary Education. Immediately after, he earned an MA in Spanish Language and Culture from Boston College. At the university, he was a teaching fellow for the two-year period and received the Teaching Excellence Award / 1994-1995. In 1995, he returned to New York and taught on Long Island for over ten years before accepting a position in Westchester County in the Ardsley (NY) Public Schools. He is currently enrolled in a SAS certificate program in Educational Leadership and Technology at Adelphi University. Over the years, Mr. Fratto has been active in the profession. He is a member of the board of directors of the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (NECTFL). He was the 2005 Off-Site Co-Chair of the Long Island Language Teachers Conference. He is the 2007 Chair of the Local Committee for NECTFL. He also served as Co-Chair of the Local Committee for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) from 2001-2003. In his belief to share with others, Mr. Fratto has presented Pop Culture Rocks the LOTE Classroom, Integrating Art into the Foreign Language Curriculum, Improving Literacy Skills Through Art, The Joys of Testing and Creativity 101 at local and regional conferences. In addition to presenting workshops and sessions, he is active in recruiting college students to join the foreign language profession and to spread the word of the importance of bilingualism; he spoke at the University of Delaware and Fordham University during the 2005-2006 school year to achieve this objective. When Mr. Fratto is not busy preparing lessons plans, grading and planning his next session or workshop, he enjoys rock climbing and hiking within the Hudson Valley. In addition, he is active in the struggle for gay and lesbian rights and is a board member of the Log Cabin Republicans of New York City.

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Alba Masullo

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Barbara Allen

When I was four years old, I woke my mother at 4:00AM to report “Mom, I’ve never been to London or Paris or Rome!” My first foreign text was a pocket-sized Berlitz French for Travelers purchased when I was 10. I had never left central NY, and it was so exotic to imagine people speaking French! I began Spanish study in 9th grade (the French teacher was too scary). I dreamed early on that I was destined for far-away places. My B.A. from Eisenhower College is in International Relations and Spanish. I never considered spending my adult life in a classroom 9 miles from where I was born. Plans change…… Currently I teach 8th graders in Checkpoint A Spanish classes. I have been a Spanish teacher for 20 years (and counting!) at Vernon Verona Sherrill Middle and High Schools, in Verona, NY. Since my first nighttime revelation, I have seen London and Paris (both with tour groups of my students); Rome is still on the “to do” list. I have lived in Mexico, DF, studied in Santa Fé de Bogotá, Colombia and Chicoutimi, Quebec, worked in Concepción, Chile and traveled to Spain, Argentina, Uruguay, Ireland and Sweden. I have taught Spanish levels 1,2,3,4,5 and earned an M.S. Ed. from SUNY Oswego. I have been a Fulbright Exchange Teacher, a LOTE Department Chair, a FLACNY President, and a NYSFLT presenter. None of this was a part of my life plan at the age of 13, so I consider myself the perfect person to introduce my monolingual 8th graders to languages and cultures other than their own. I was just like them; I was born right down the road (although initially they believe I must be foreign!). My experiences in Spanish (and Russian, French, and Italian) have transformed my life. Every fall, at the beginning of a new school year, I recognize the tremendous opportunity and responsibility that rests in my hands. Somewhere out there, in the midst of that hormonal stew that is 8th grade, there are others like me. They have no idea that this new experience with language might transform their lives. I tell my students that I have the best job in the world, because I get to spend almost every day with them and “share stuff that is really cool and interesting.” I spend every day communicating in Spanish while I help to develop that skill in others. The restaurant bills and food wrappers I saved from Argentina in 1988 live on in my classes, as do the rock music CDs from Chile and the post cards from Madrid. I share with my students Univisión, Maná, Rubén Blades, Diego Rivera and Gabriela Mistral. It makes my day when they get all excited because they understand. It is even better when they respond appropriately to a question in Spanish – without thinking! I ask you -- do we or do we not have the best jobs in the world?!

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Bill Ryall

...currently teaches French at SUNY Oneonta (been there for 11 years). Previously taught Foreign Language Methods at SUNY Oneonta. Last year, he created a new civilization course that has mandatory travel abroad component for our majors and minors. ...taught French in grades 8-12 at Worcester Central School for 35 years (there was a 5 year overlap in the two teaching locations). ...has been active in NYSAFLT his entire career (former Director of Southern Tier Region, frequent presenter at NYSAFLT state and regional conferences, liaison between NYSAFLT and SUNY Oneonta for Summer Institute, various committee work, etc.). ...was past president of Hudson Valley Chapter of AATF. ...has been active in the Catskill Area Foreign Language Association (CAFLA). ...is still very active as a consultant at SED in development of the French Regents and SLP exams. ...is very interested in the role of the visual component of LOTE instruction. ...gets a tremendous thrill out of watching college seniors get just as excited about seeing their progress in a second language as middle school kids do. ...enjoys spending his free time (Ha!) with his family and pursing his passion, photography. And he loves to travel in the francophone world. "Bottom line...this is year 41 of teaching and I still love what I do. I couldn't imagine a more rewarding career than that of a French teacher." Bill received his B.A. in French Language and Literataure from SUNY Binghamton, his M.A. in French Education from SUNY Albany. He studied abroad at the Université d'Avignon and Université de Paris. He was a recipient of study abroad scholarship from AATF/French government for study of life in rural France in the Massif Central and Pyrenees. (Graduate credit from Indiana University). He was a participant in Colloque de Sèvres on the study of French in the US at the invitation of the French Ministries of the Interior and Education.

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Magali Alvarez

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Jodi LaRock

Jodi LaRock has been a French and Spanish teacher in the Elizabethtown-Lewis school district since 1979. She has been instrumental in developing, implementing, and maintaining programs and activities that enhance and improve local professional involvement in the school and community. As a member of the teaching profession, she strives to be a part of the solution to problems and consistently approaches challenges with a positive attitude and a view of the “big picture”. She enjoys sharing new ideas and visions with her colleagues, particularly when the result creates a more productive and effective learning environment that improves student performance. When New York State introduced the learning standards and performance indicators, she played a major role in her district as it adjusted the curriculum from teacher-centered instruction to learner-centered instruction. It was also at this time that the role of foreign language in the curriculum became more important as requirements were changed to include all students, not just the “cream of the crop”. Her goal has been to teach all learners using a communicative approach, and to encourage students based on their strengths, not to discourage them because of their weaknesses. Apart from local school district involvement, she has also been a member of a regional foreign language teacher steering committee for many years. It is a group of professional educators who have provided opportunities for professional development to language teachers in the North Country for over twenty years. Responsibilities have ranged from planning and presenting at regional meetings, to writing and developing curriculum resource guides for LOTE (languages other than English). As a member of the New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers, she is currently serving as a member of the Board of Directors for that organization. As a director for the Northern Region East, it has been her responsibility to keep members abreast of current and future developments at the state level, plan meetings, and attend local events. She has been a presenter at regional and state conferences. As an instructor at the middle school, high school, and a workshop presenter, she strives to present materials and behavioral expectations in a way that reaches different learning styles. This is as important with adult learners as it is with adolescent learners. Much of the professional development that pertains to behaviors is based on common sense. She believes that as professionals, it is easy to fall in a routine but once a fresh view is presented, we become more effective. The adage of working smarter, not harder, applies often in the teaching profession. Behaviors and materials need to be clearly and efficiently presented, modeled, reinforced, and assessed. In the classroom, whether instructing adolescent or adult learners, the needs of students remain the same. She begins training this summer as a NYSUT Effective Teacher instructor. She feels very fortunate to have chosen a profession that has been as rewarding as teaching has been. She never feels that she is “just a French teacher”. Her many roles have contributed to her successes in and out of the classroom. She enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, at home, in Florida, and camping. She continues to collect all things flamingo, and looks forward to another great school year.

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Nancy Russo-Rumore

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Dr. Lori Langer de Ramirez

Lori Langer de Ramirez began her career as a teacher of Spanish, French and ESL. She holds a Master's Degree in Applied Linguistics and a Doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. She served for seven years as an Adjunct Professor at Teachers College, where she taught a course entitled “Teaching and Learning in the Multicultural Classroom”. She is currently the Chairperson of the ESL and World Language Department for Herricks Public Schools. The author of several Spanish-language books and texts, such as "Cuéntame – Folklore y Fábulas" (a folktale-based reader with activities) and "Mi abuela ya no está" (a picturebook about the Day of the Dead), Lori has also contributed to many textbooks and written numerous articles about second language pedagogy and methodology. Her most recent book is entitled "Voices of Diversity: Stories, Activities and Resources for theMulticultural Classroom," published by Prentice Hall. Her interactive website offers teachers over 40 virtual picture books, pages of realia, links and other curricular materials for teaching Spanish, French and ESL. Lori has presented workshops at professional conferences both in the US and internationally. She has been the recipient of several National Endowment for the Humanities grants to study in and develop lessons about Mexico, Colombia and Senegal, an AATSP fellowship for graduate study, a grant from the Council for Basic Education and most recently a Fulbright Award to India
and Nepal. She was recently awarded the Nelson Brooks Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Culture by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Her areas of research and curriculum development are folktales in the language classroom - especially stories from the oral tradition - and technology in language teaching.

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Marie Grilli-Loria

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Irma Evangelista

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Nancy Reina

The application of Languages other than English to the business world has been an interest of mine for years. LOTE students have often questioned the relevancy of the language as it applies to future job opportunities. As much as I attempted to instruct them about the language and the culture of the target country, they would always come back to the question of " How is this going to benefit us in the future?" It was at this point two years ago that I began to explore a concept called " Global Links". This is a program initiated by Jo-Ann Esrick, Foreign Language Teacher and Mary Ann Baade, Business Teacher at Elmont Memorial High School. Global Links introduces students to foreign language skills and experiences that they will need in various business related occupations. It also allows students to observe and interact with professionals in the business world. It provides students with a career exploration link relative to languages other than English. I took this concept and, with the support of the Vernon-Verona-Sherrill administrators, began a similar program entitled " Global Nexus". We introduce students to different languages and cultures, by inviting Heritage Speakers, who are community business leaders, to VVS. Our goal is that students at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill explore a career and use a target language while interning in our community. Partnerships are formed with the community, employers have a greater pool of potential employees, and hopefully students will consider living and working in our area to strengthen the local economy. I am the Chairperson of Foreign Language in Business Committee for NYSAFLT, being a panel member for the last two years. I recently served as a member of the Annual Meeting Planning Committee and the NYSAFLT Nominating Committee. I had submitted my "paperwork" for the 2006 NYSAFLT Colloquium Partnership Poster session: The Power of Partnerships! I will Co-Chair the Summer Institute at Oneonta this summer. At the local level, I facilitate the Madison-Oneida BOCES LOTE Networking group, this being my third year. I also served as the Madison-Oneida BOCES Turnkey Trainer for the Regents. I sponsored 3 student teachers from Oswego.

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Bev Stevens

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Isabel Cosentino

Currently an adjunct instructor of Italian at Suffolk County Community College and SUNY Stony Brook, Isabel retired from Middle Country School District in 2003 after more than 30 years as a teacher of Italian, French, Spanish and ESL. Isabel has been a member of NYSAFLT and AATI since the ‘70s and Long Island Language Teachers (LILT) since the ‘80s. She has served in many capacities including NYSAFLT Regional Director (’01-’04) AATI Secretary, AATI Vice President (’00-present) and LILT 1st Vice President (‘05-present) and has presented workshops for each of these organizations. Isabel is also a member of the Association of Italian American Educators (AIAE) and has served as Secretary since 2003. For the past 3 years, Isabel has joined her NYSAFLT colleagues in Albany on Lobby Day to advocate for LOTE. In 1996, Isabel was named Centereach High School Teacher of the Year. In 2001, she received the PTSA Jenkins Award and was honored as AIAE Educator of the Year in Secondary Education in 2003. Highlights of Isabel’s professional career include more than twenty years of entering her students in competitions sponsored by AATI and LILT. She is also proud of the Cultural Exchange Program she established in 1990 with Liceo Umberto I in Naples, Italy. Isabel traces the origins of her love for other languages and cultures to the influence of her parents, Dominick, an Italian-American soldier stationed in Italy in World War II and Wanda, a young Italian woman who lived on the Adriatic coast of central Italy. Wanda came to the United States as a war bride in 1946 and her parents and siblings eventually immigrated in the early ‘50s. In somewhat of a reversal of her parents’ meeting, Isabel met her husband, Ennio, on a trip to Italy while a student in SUNY Albany’s Junior Year Abroad Program in Nice, France. Married for 37 years, Isabel and Ennio are the proud parents of Richard, Mark and Elizabeth, a soon-to-be Italian teacher. In her “spare” time, Isabel loves to play hide-and-seek and baseball with her three grandsons, Dominick, James and Daniel, and does her best to incorporate Italian mini-lessons into the activities! Mindful of what an awesome career she has enjoyed as a language teacher, Isabel would like to thank her students and the many devoted and passionate colleagues who inspired her along the way.

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Michèle Pollard

Michèle A. Pollard lives by the motto, “Je parle, j’enseigne, j’adore… le français” (I speak, I teach, I adore… French). Growing up on Long Island, New York, Madame Pollard made frequent trips to France to visit her mother’s family and relatives. She has always enjoyed French culture, language, and that special Francophile “Joie de vivre,”-- all things she shares and passes on to her students. Ms. Pollard attended Queens College and spent her junior year abroad at the l’Universite de Nancy where she earned a Certificat d’Etudes, before returning to New York to complete her B.A. in French. Ms. Pollard completed her M.A. in Education at the University at Albany and is certified in both French and Spanish, N-6 and 7-12. In 2005 she earned National Board Certification in World Languages Other Than English, French. Since 1990 Madame Pollard has taught French and Spanish to grades Pre-K through 8 at the Academy of the Holy Names in Albany, NY. Her love for elementary language learning also extends to her involvement in after-school language programs at various school districts in the Capital Region, and her work as Co-Director of La Petite Ecole, a weekly French language immersion camp for children ages 4-12. She has also taught classes in Elementary Methods to teachers interested in elementary language certification at the University at Albany, and through the Capital Region Teachers Center. Senora Pollard is actively involved with many professional organizations including New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers (NYSAFLT), the Capitol Organization of Language Teachers (COLT), the Capitol Region Teachers Center, the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF), American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL). She was honored by the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1996 when she was awarded a Foreign Language Fellowship. In 1995 NYSAFLT presented Ms. Pollard with the Gertrude Rossin Cultural Award for Native American Cultural Themes. Madame Pollard has fond memories of her participation in the Teacher Partnership Institute, National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center at Iowa State University where she worked with Dr. Helena Curtin and Dr. Carol Ann Dahlberg. Madame Pollard loves to share her energy and excitement for languages and world cultures with her students and her own two children, Gabrielle and Clarke. She has been a proponent of the benefits of early language learning, and is interested in elementary language curriculum development. To her students, she will always be fondly greeted as “Madame” or “Senora,” both in and out of the classroom. Her enthusiasm is truly contagious, as is her ability to excite and inspire children to learn languages.

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Karen Moretti

The Spanish language has been a part of Karen Moretti’s life for as long as she can remember. Her mother is Angela Jones, a retired LOTE teacher of thirty-nine years, and Karen grew up watching her mother’s passion for teaching and dedication to children. Karen’s earliest memories are of attending international dinners, Christmas caroling in Spanish, and traveling by car through Mexico with her mother and brother. Karen learned first-hand what it takes to be an outstanding LOTE teacher, and she did not have to look far for a role model! Karen followed her mother’s footsteps and attended SUNY Geneseo and graduated with majors in Spanish and Elementary Education. Her first teaching position was in Red Jacket, where she worked side by side with her mentor, Rosemary Fry. It was at Red Jacket, that Karen discovered the power of rhythm and song. The two ladies went on to win NYSAFLT’s James E. Allen Distinguished Foreign Language Program Award in 1985. Karen began working at Waterloo Middle School in 1987 and she has been there ever since. She and her dedicated colleagues at Waterloo have won three James E. Allen Awards. At her school, Karen is a mentor teacher, a member of the Anti-Bullying Team, and a member of the Building Level Team. She is also the chairperson of their school-wide advisement program which focuses on Character Education. That program has received a Promising Practice Citation from the Character Education Partnership in Washington D.C. Karen truly believes in the power of a teacher’s place in the classroom, and she believes that our own attitudes can often “make or break” a student. She intentionally creates a classroom atmosphere that brings out the best in all students. Her high energy lessons engage each and every learner, and laughter is an essential part of each and every class. Giving back to the profession is important to Karen because she has been inspired by so many others in the profession. She is the current Rochester Regional Director, and she is Co-Chairperson of NYSAFLT’s Membership Committee with Laurie Clarcq. Karen has presented workshops at regional conferences, the Colloquium, the Annual Meeting, the Character Education Summer Institute (Cortland College) and Teacher Resource Centers. She has been published in the Annual Publication three times, and she has received a NYSAFLT Teacher Incentive Grant for a pre-school partnership she launched. Karen is a multiple nominee for Who’s Who in America’s Teachers, and is a member of the New York State Academy for Teaching and Learning. She was awarded the Teacher of the Year Award from the Waterloo Education Association, and in 2000, received NYSAFLT’s Ruth E. Wasley Distinguished Teacher Award. She was an elected member of the NYSAFLT Nominations Committee, as well as a Turnkey Trainer for the Proficiency Exam. In September 2006, Karen will return to SUNY Geneseo for their Homecoming festivities where she will receive the Geneseo Alumni Association Excellence in Education Award. This special award recognizes Geneseo graduates who have achieved extraordinary distinction in pre-K through post secondary classroom teaching or school services. Karen resides in Waterloo with her husband of twenty five years, Don, and two children, Molly (16) and Matt (13). Their oldest son, Michael (20), attends St. Bonaventure and is majoring in communication.

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Mike Klar

Monsieur Klar grew up with an uncle who spoke French. On their trips to Québec when Mike was all of 14 years old, Uncle Tom required that his nephews speak French. His Uncle Tom and Québec opened up a world of European culture, excellent food, and love of the French language for Michael. Back at home in Notre Dame High School in Utica, NY, Mike and his best friends Nick Martin and Guy Danella made a pact to only speak French to each other. In 1967, Michael began at Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts, as a dual major in French and Russian. When he met Gospaja Ziss, his Russian professor, he honed his skills in both French and Russian. To explain grammar points to the rest of the class, Gospaja Ziss would speak to Michael in French, and he would translate the grammar into English for his classmates. However, Michael credits Father Denys with solidifying Michael’s love and understanding of the French language. Michael will never forget Father Denys’ “explication de texte,” or his depth of understanding of all things French and otherwise. Father Denys left a lasting impression on Michael and propelled him to instill that love of French in others. Mike graduated from Assumption cum laude in 1971 as a French and Russian major. In 1971, Mike was hired as a French teacher in New Hartford Central School. He has taught at New Hartford for the past 35 years. During that period, Michael completed graduate work in French at SUNY Albany. In addition to teaching French, Michael has also taught Latin and Russian. He has served as the Assistant Department Chair for twenty years. Mike has traveled to France and other European countries several times, most often with students. During his tenure in New Hartford, Michael has served on several committees, conducted numerous in-service workshops, and sponsored five student teachers. Michael also presented three times at the NYSAFLT Annual Conference and Colloquium. One of Michael’s proudest achievements was National Board Certification. Michael was part of the first group of only 19 New Yorkers to earn National Board Certification in LOTE in 2002. Those who know Michael, however, will always comment on his passion for French and for teaching. Michael is an animated, energetic, and creative teacher who has impacted the lives of hundreds of students. He is known for his songs, dances, and sayings to help his students remember grammar, usage rules, and vocabulary for French. In Mike’s own words, “It’s not a good day unless we laugh in class.” His goal has always been to show students the beauty and ease of French, and to show them that they can be successful and love language as much as he does. After 35 years of teaching, Michael will be retiring in June. His greatest legacy will be his students, past and present, who love being in Monsieur Klar’s class to learn French, Latin, or Russian, or who simply want to be in the presence of someone who always exemplifies joie de vivre!

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Madeline Turan

Madeline Turan has been teaching French and Spanish in the Sachem School District on Long Island for the past thirty-six years, and has also been an adjunct instructor at both St. Joseph’s College and the State University at Stony Brook. She has also been nominated for several Disney Teacher Awards, was the Sachem Teacher of the Year, a semi-finalist for that position in the State, and was chosen as a SCOPE All-Star Teacher. Maddie served as a member of the Board of Directors of NYSAFLT for two terms, has been a member of several NYSAFLT and AATF committees, is a Turnkey Trainer for the Regents and Proficiency Exams, and has been a Foreign Language Consultant for Eastern Suffolk BOCES. She has been the recipient of four competitive scholarships to study French in both France and Canada. Although a member of several foreign language associations, it has always been with NYSAFLT and AATF that she has most closely identified. Maddie fell in love with the French language as a member of an innovative, experimental program that assigned fifty students to take French or Spanish when she was in the seventh grade. Although a change of schools forced her to replace French for Latin for several years, her passion for the language held fast. In college, while studying Spanish for acquisition of dual certification, it was still French that held onto her heart. When she began her career at Sachem she discovered another love along the way – the less-able learner – a population that was only allowed to study Spanish in her district. Her Spanish role became that of the Special Education and Modified teacher of Spanish students, and she was able to continue her love affair with French through presentations using music and videos, primarily with David Graham, her music mentor. As a member of the Albany committee to work on the Regents Examination, and subsequently as a Turnkey Trainer and Foreign Language Consultant for Eastern Suffolk BOCES, Madeline has been active in the development of materials to aid in the preparation for the Regents. She has also been responsible for the implementation of several workshops for BOCES as well as for several local school districts to train teachers in the correction of both the Regents and Proficiency examinations. She has worked with ten student teachers and feels a tremendous feeling of gratification in helping others develop their professional skills. An outspoken advocate for programs geared at the Less-Able Learner in the LOTE classroom, she has orchestrated and participated in numerous workshops to help other teachers develop successful techniques for working with these students. Presentations and workshops have been created for BOCES, various LOTE organizations, and school districts in both Nassau and Suffolk counties. The program in Sachem has expanded to include “non-academic” and LD students who continue their study of Spanish through Level 4 (many of whom have opted to take the regents examination and attain a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation). Maddie has also been involved in numerous workshops that demonstrate the important role that music, children’s books, and movies can play in helping students to develop a stronger proficiency in listening, reading and speaking. She and David Graham have been working together for more than twenty years using music as a viable means of instruction, and in the most recent past have been asked to run several national and international workshops about the music of Quebec, francophone Canada, and la francophonie. Their mutual passion for "La Belle Province" has been shared with many colleagues and has sparked an interest in our Northern Neighbor that has spread to numerous French classrooms in New York State as well as throughout the country. On a personal note, she has been married for thirty-three years and has four children ranging in ages from 20-29 years old.

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Zelkida Ajdinovic-Skenderija

So many of our NYSAFLT members have unique, interesting stories to tell. One of NYSAFLT’s newest members, Zelkida Ajdinovic-Skenderija, originally from Bosnia, certainly has one of those stories. Zelkida, finished her student teaching through SUNY Cortland in December 2005, partly under the watchful eye of longtime NYSAFLT member, Dr. Jean LeLoup. Needless to say, she had already joined NYSAFLT as a student member before graduating. By January, 2006 Zelkida had begun teaching Spanish at Owego-Apalachin Middle School. A native of Sarajevo, she had wanted to escape the war there. However, exit from Sarajevo in 1993 was limited to certain days, for women and children only, and not available to ethnic Muslims, like Zelkida. Compounding her difficulties, her boyfriend, Sasha, was Christian; there was little hope for their future as a “mixed couple” in Bosnia. Zelkida acquired false papers and a temporary new name. She left for the border when there was a lull in the fighting and she was able to join a convoy of women and children leaving the country. For the next several months Zelkida went from Croatia to Poland to the Czech Republic, finally emigrating to Spain, the only country accepting Bosnian refugees at that time. Imagine crossing the border and having to announce, “I wish to defect”! After meeting with the Red Cross, completing her paperwork with the policía, and going through a battery of medical tests, a process aided by some knowledge of French and German, Zelkida found herself in a refugee center in Madrid. There she began her study of Spanish. This former math tutor ironed clothes, cleaned apartments and did child care to earn money. While in Spain, Zelkida used tourist visas to visit her boyfriend who had fled to the Czech Republic. After much trial and tribulation, they were able to marry and in 1996 daughter, Mirna, was born. Sasha’s poems about the war had been brought to the attention of Professor Wayles Browne from Cornell University. Sasha’s communications with the professor played a role in Sasha and Zelkida’s decision to come to the United States. In 1999 they arrived in Ithaca with little Mirna in tow. Zelkida began English classes, and in August, 2001, finished a degree in travel and tourism. Her anticipated job evaporated along with the lives, hopes and futures of so many in this country on September 11th. So Zelkida went to work as a TA in the Ithaca City Schools, which led her to pursue her degree at Cortland. Now employed in Owego, Zelkida is working through cultural differences to try to understand the average American middle school student. We wish her luck!

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Abbe Guillet

Webmaster's note: This bio was written by Abbe's daughter, Stephanie, who was featured last week. Abbe Guillet teaches French Three, Four, Five, and AP at C.W. Baker High School in upstate New York. She received an undergraduate and a graduate education in French literature from Goucher College, Towson, Maryland and Columbia University, New York, and studied at the Université de Provence in Aix-en-Provence and at the Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, Senegal at two NEH Institutes. Before coming to Syracuse, she taught English at the Institut Reine in Versailles and the Lycée Français de New York. During her seventeen years at Baker High School, in Baldwinsville, she has organized and led eight trips to France. She has also introduced an AP program and founded a chapter of AATF’s Société Honoraire de Français. She has served on the Executive Board of NYSAFLT as a Regional Representative from Central New York, was honored by NYSAFLT with the Ruth E. Wasley Award in 2003, and was recently named Chevalier dans L’Ordre des Palmes académiques. Throughout her years of teaching, I have seen the effect that she has had on the lives of her students. In her class, her students not only learn about the French language, literature, and culture, but also about the importance of friendship, family, and community. As her daughter, I have been able to see the work and effort she has put in to teaching. As one of her students, I was able to see the work put in to practice. I am always in awe of her presence and ability to teach the unteachable and reach the unreachable. She remains one of my favorite teachers, and will continue to be my role model for an exceptional teacher. And, whether it be in the classroom, conference, or banquet, I will continue to be her constant support and her biggest fan.

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Stephanie Guillet

Webmaster's note: This bio was written by Stephanie's mother, Abbe, who will be featured next week. Stephanie was an undergraduate French major at Ithaca College where she was inducted into the Pi Delta Phi Honor Society and is currently in her final months of her masters in French Literature at Syracuse University where she is also a T.A. She is certified to teach French and taught one year at the junior high and high school level. She has dual French-American citizenship, raised in a very confusing household which spent 80% of the time in the United States and spoke 80% of the time in French! One of the first questions we are often asked is what it was like being in class together. Actually, it is and will always one of my fondest memories as a teacher. When she was in class, she was “Mademoiselle Guillet,” just another one of my students, as was her group of friends. The bell rang, and I was in my teaching mode. At home, both my husband and I made the decision not to give her any “unauthorized assistance.” Fortunately, she was an excellent student. I am not sure that I was even aware of the pressure that she felt, not only being in class, but being in the same school, together. The only time of the year that I was admittedly unbearable was March, National French Contest time. Like it or not, she did all the old exams and practiced nightly. If there was anything I wish I could do differently, it would be that, as I question my motives. Did I want her to do well for the satisfaction it would bring her, or for me? It’s a tough question, though I am annually annoying and competitive with all of my students! The next question that I am asked is how I feel about Stephanie becoming a French teacher. Despite all the challenges that we face yearly, she has seen how happy I am to go to school day after day, year after year. Why wouldn’t she want to do the same thing?! She was also so fortunate to have such accomplished and caring French professors both at Ithaca and at Syracuse University. I have been privileged to watch Stephanie take her first steps as a teacher. Although she is really too busy to talk at any length about lessons that she is preparing, I see little glimmers of the teacher she will become. At the 2004 NYSAFLT Annual Meeting, we co-presented a pre-conference workshop on integrating culture into the French curriculum, and I was amazed by her poise. In the end, while she will always be my favorite student, I think that I will be the most proud of having her be my most respected colleague.

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Candace Black

Candace first acquired a love of languages when she spent her junior summer of high school in Avignon, France through an ATAD exchange. After that, it was off to college at SUNY Potsdam, where she majored in French, spent one year studying at the Université de Paris - La Sorbonne, and finished her bachelor's degree a full year early. After college, Candace worked as a Study Abroad Advisor at the University of Rochester and then went to Vitré, a suburb of Rennes, to teach English in a French high school. Having interests in both business and languages, Candace pursued a Masters of Business Administration at the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration with concentrations in International Business and Organizations and Markets. Experience in the business world made her realize how important language skills are in the work place, so she returned to the University of Rochester to pursue a Masters of Art in Teaching from the Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development. Candace hopes to continue her education by pursuing a doctoral degree in Education in the near future. Upon graduation, Candace began her teaching career at Sweet Home High School in Amherst, New York, teaching levels 3 through Advanced Placement, while also coordinating the exchange program with a lycée in Hirson, France. Moving back to the Rochester area in 1999, Candace spent one year teaching level 2 French and Economics at Penfield High School before securing her current position at Rush-Henrietta Senior High School, teaching levels 3 through 5 honors. In this position, Candace is the faculty advisor to three clubs (French club, Unity Club and Foreign Study Seminar) as well as the coordinator of the French exchange program. As a community outreach project, Candace also coordinates guest speakers to give presentations to French classes at the high school. Candace has presented at various conferences to share what she does in the classroom. Most recently, she gave a presentation at the 2006 NYSAFLT Annual Meeting in Saratoga Springs, NY on using technological templates to make interactive games and ancillaries. This past February, she was invited to present a similar seminar at the FLACNY conference in Syracuse, NY. At her high school, Candace routinely offers inservice courses to her colleagues, particularly in the field of website design and data analysis, through the Rush-Henrietta Teacher's Center. Technology plays an important role in Candace's classroom, from audio-visual presentations to digital photographs. Since 2004, Candace has been involved in a distance learning program through BOCES, which allows her upper-level students to participate in monthly video-conferences with students in English classes at the Université de Cergy-Pontoise in France. Students on both sides of the ocean can see and hear each other in real time and interact in an extremely authentic environment. Candace's class was featured in a Democrat and Chronicle article in the Spring of 2005 for this project. In December 2005, Candace was awarded National Board Certification in World Languages Other Than English. An extremely rigorous process, she credits this certification as being the most introspective and professionally-worthwhile experience of her life. Candace has been a member of NYSAFLT for several years and continues to serve on the NYSAFLT Rochester Regional Planning Committee, which organizes the Rochester conference held at Nazareth College in March of each year. She is also a board member of several sister cities organizations, including the Rennes-Rochester Sister Cities Committee and the Linkages of Rochester Board, for which she also serves as the Education Committee Chairperson. In her free time, Candace likes to read, play tennis, and travel.

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Carol Reed

Carol Reed is a French teacher at Canton Central School and believes that the best teachers never stop learning and enjoying the journey with their students. For her, that journey has included Bachelors and Masters Degrees from SUNY Potsdam, then teaching middle through high school French and continuing her own studies at Université Laval, Université de Paris VIII, St Pierre et Miquelon Francoforum and various other stages over the years. She has supervised fifteen student teachers and numerous interns from SUNY Potsdam and St. Lawrence University. She has presented numerous workshops at the local level, at NYSAFLT Annual meetings, AATF and ACTFL, chiefly on the topics of Québec resources and use of music in the classroom. Many of these workshops have been in French because she likes to encourage fellow non-native speakers to get out and practice what they preach. "Let's use our languages, communicate with each other, and support each other. Let's never forget why we started teaching in the first place." She is a proponent of immersion workshops here in the states for language teachers. She has held the offices of Board Member, Secretary, President-Elect, Past-President and was President of NYSAFLT in 1995. She is a founding member of Pays du Nord, AATF. One of the accomplishments of which she is most proud is helping to maintain, along with the French teachers of Potsdam Central School, Danielle Wilson and Patty Moosbrugger, the student school to school exchange with Lycée Rémi Belleau in Nogent le Rotrou, France. For sixteen years students from France have been coming to the North Country in February to stay with families and traveling to France in April for a homestay. The joy of watching our students interact and use their language is priceless. This jewel of a program began with Janice Brown and Tom Ham and continues due to the generosity and good will of families and teachers on both sides of the Atlantic. In her private life, Carol has been married to George, who is now retired from his rural mail-carrier position, for nearly forty years. She enjoys singing with a barbershop quartet named "Off The Record", directed the local chorus for ten years and is a member of Sweet Adelines International.

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Sue Hochmuth

Sue’s fascination with the Spanish language and culture was inspired by an aunt and uncle who over many years sponsored exchange students from Mexico, Ecuador and Peru. During high school, she participated in an exchange program, spent the summer with an Ecuadorian family, and the following year her family hosted a student from Peru. Always wanting to be a teacher, now Sue knew that Spanish was the area she wanted to further explore. She graduated with her degree in Spanish from State University College at Buffalo and followed, her high school sweetheart, Ron to Greenville, North Carolina. There she taught Spanish for ten years. Wanting their children to be closer to their grandparents and relatives, the Hochmuth family relocated to the Watertown area, where Sue taught English for three years. Knowing though that Spanish was her true calling, she accepted a position sixteen years ago at Sackets Harbor Central School, where she was the language department. After three years, she was happy to welcome her colleague, Jen Berie, to the department. The department now has two full time teachers, offers Spanish at the 5^th and 6th grade level, Spanish 4, and when needed, an intermediate level college course sponsored by Jefferson Community College. Sue has been involved with many aspects of NYSAFLT. She has served as a director, regional meeting co-chair, co-chair of Skidmore Summer Institute, chair of Teacher Awards, and was a recipient of the Embassy of Spain scholarship to Salamanca. Two summers ago, she spent three weeks studying in Cuernavaca at the Cemanahuac Institute. Sue has also presented workshops locally and at the Annual Meeting and has been a member of the annual meeting planning committee, nominations committee, and the Public Relations committee. Currently, she serves as the NYSAFLT News editor. She is very proud of her two children, Eric, who has followed in her footsteps and is a Spanish teacher also, and her daughter Christine, who is looking forward to starting a Ph.D. program in Biology in the fall. Sue would like to thank NYSAFLT and all its members for helping her to grow professionally and for being a wonderful resource and continual source of inspiration in her teaching.

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Dottie Edler

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Rosemary Fry

Rosemary spent her junior year of college at NYU in Madrid and never misses the chance to encourage students to study abroad. She graduated from Nazareth College with a degree in Spanish, was tutored for a year and got her certification in French and then, her masters from Goddard College with a specialization in FLES. She has traveled to 40 countries, studied in Spain, Ecuador, Mexico and France, taught in Argentina as a Fulbright scholar, adopted her daughter from Peru and is currently hosting an exchange student from Chile. So, “thinking globally” is a way of life, but she most enjoys “acting locally”. She began her career in Waterloo and in 1980 she took a job at Red Jacket, (Shortsville-Manchester) with the stated goal of creating an excellent language program within five years. She began Red Jacket’s K-6 FLES program in 1983 and collaborated with Karen Moretti to win the James E. Allen Award in 1985. She has kept LOTE alive and highly visible at Red Jacket through international dinners, LOTE awards programs, a LOTE bulletin board in the hall, a Spanish current events board in class, a Spanish language table at lunch, foreign language week celebrations, LOTE advocacy and career units and displays, exchange student visits and parties, Board presentations, newsletter articles, trips, and an on-going exchange with Costa Rica. In class she tries to make sure every student speaks every day whether it be through the daily password, sharing of “noticias”, skits, songs, games, debates, oral presentations or just free conversation. To date, Rosemary has seven former students who have joined her in what she calls “the best profession”. Beyond the classroom, Rosemary is a charter member of WAFFLE (Wayne Finger Lakes Foreign Language Educators), a co-creator of the WAFFLE language fair and, it seems, perennial president. She believes in getting teachers together to share ideas and friendship and has worked with BOCES to organize many LOTE conference days. A regular presenter at NYSAFLT for over 25 years, she has served on the Board and nominating committee, co-chaired the Rochester regional conference and contributed to the annual publication (which she will be editing this year. She has won numerous awards including the NYSAFLT graduate studies scholarship, teacher incentive awards and her most cherished, the Ruth E. Wasley award. 

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Joseph O'Connor

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Jo Zimmerman

If you have been to a NYSAFLT meeting in recent memory, you are sure to have run across Jo Zimmerman in your travels. NYSAFLT is very fortunate to have been introduced to Jo through her late husband, Charles Zimmerman. Charles was a member of NYSAFLT since his student teacher days at SUNY Fredonia graduating with the class of 1964. Since his 50th birthday and their 22nd wedding anniversary, Jo accompanied Charles to NYSAFLT conferences. The first year, she was just the driver to and from the Concord. While at the conference, she noticed that there were people who seemed to need help at the various booths run by the NYSAFLT members. The next year Jo, who wasn't a NYSAFLT member or even a teacher, volunteered to help Bill Gunn. Since 1997, Jo has been volunteering on the hospitality and registration committees and it has been great fun having her there. JO states, "I have met some wonderful people and found that there are a number of folks in the group who feel as I do that foreign language belongs in the curriculum starting in pre-school." As many of you are aware, Jo and NYSAFLT have started a travel fund in Chuck’s honor to help teachers who wish to travel abroad with students. Jo and Charles both loved taking students abroad and they were so pleased to watch a student have that eureka moment, when s/he discovered that s/he had put a cogent sentence or paragraph together in a L.O.T.E. and s/he was understood. Jo currently is a day care licensing representative for the NYS Office of Children Family Services. She is also the proud mother of 2 great kids, Pastor Catherine Nicol (David) and Daniel Zimmerman.

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Anita Vogely, Ph.D

Anita, who hails from the Southern Tier region learned to speak Spanish while serving 4 years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador. She returned to the University of Texas in Austin where she pursued her Masters in Hispanoamerican Theatre and her Ph.D. in Foreign Language Methodology. She worked for 12 years at Binghamton University where she directed the M.A.T in Spanish and French. Upon completion of her time at SUNY Binghamton, she had come to a crossroads. She realized that, with a daughter in high school, the only thing that she couldn't teach her M.A.T. students was what the real classroom experience would be like. She also strived to develop a stronger relationship with her only daughter. She found employment at Binghamton High School and was privileged to spend the next 4 years as "the cool Mom", a title she wouldn't have traded for anything! With her daughter now in art school, Anita has remained a high school teacher where she is happy to report that her title has transformed to "the cool Teacher". Anita has been a member of NYSAFLT since the early 1990's and has presented at numerous conferences. For the past 2 years, she has served on the Board of Directors as the Southern Tier Regional Director. Last summer, Anita's best friend of 35 years was diagnosed with breast cancer. While visiting her in late August, we went to the wig boutique in the hospital where she received chemotherapy. In every wig she tried on, she looked like either Laura Bush or Martha Stewart. It was then that I decided to cut off my waist length hair and give it to her so that she could have a wig made from it. Although temporarily lost during Hurricane Katrina, the "wigums" finally found its home. Over Christmas, Anita visited for a week and was thrilled to see her hair on her friend's head. Anita has finally gotten used to her short hair, and would do it again in a heartbeat. If you would like to see pictures of the wig, please click here.

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Natalye Moss

Natalye completed her undergraduate studies at Marist College. She wasn't planning on being a teacher at the time, she wanted to be a translator. She decided she would major in French and minor in Russian. She studied in France her junior year and upon her return, she got her M.A.T. at SUNY New Paltz. While working on her masters, she began substitute teaching in the New Paltz school district. Natalye attended her first NYSAFLT annual conference in 1999 when she was student teaching and, thanks to Lynn Gore, she's been involved ever since! She was an adjunct lecturer at SUNY Ulster in the Spring of 2000. The following year, she began teaching in the Kingston City School District, where she has remained to this day. Natalye has won several awards through NYSAFLT. She won two NYSAFLT scholarships to study at the Université Laval and l'Université de Montréal (2003 and 2004 respectively). She was also awarded a scholarship to attend the Summer Institute in Oneonta last year. Natalye was also recently elected to the NYSAFLT Board of Directors as a director for the Mid-Hudson region. Prior to this nomination, she has served as the ALOUD secretary since 2001. Natalye is planning to take students to Quebec for this first time this Spring. She plans on starting her PhD in March, but none of this comes before her guardianship of her 6 year old godson, whose mom is currently serving in Afghanistan.

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David B. Graham

A long time member of NYSAFLT, David has involved himself in all levels of the organization, most notably as President in 1998. After many years of teaching on Long Island, David now lives in the Plattsburg area. He is the university contact for the Quebec Scholarships that NYSAFLT offers, and has served as the co-chair for these scholarships for numerous years. He's always looking for interested participants to live and learn in "La Belle Province". After retiring from full time teaching, David is now an adjunct at Clinton Community College. He continues to this day to advocate for the advancement of Foreign Language in New York State, as well as for the French language. His involvement in AATF as a Regional Representative has allowed numerous children to benefit from all that AATF has to offer. If you've been to any NYSAFLT conferences lately, you are certain to have run across his name in the program as a presenter. His famous "Rock 'n Roll a l'école" workshop as well as Quebec Culture updates and how to most effectively integrate music into a curriculum are huge successes! If you haven't been to one of his workshops - go! You're sure to leave humming a tune and tapping your toes.

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Rebecca M. Peters