2021 Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Victoria Carter

2021 Awards/Grants

by Victoria Carter

2021 WAFLT Distinguished Language Educator

Each year, WAFLT honors one of its members as the Distinguished Language Educator. This award recognizes excellence in language teaching and/or administration, long-term achievements, and service to WAFLT and the language profession at the local, regional, and national levels.

WAFLT is proud to present Dr. Jody Reif Zeimann as the 2021 WAFLT Distinguished Language Educator honoree.

Jody is a Spanish instructor in the Berlin Area School District, where she has taught Spanish since 1980. As her multiple nominators state, her passion for teaching is apparent. She is wholly committed to ensuring that her students learn beyond the mechanics of the language, expanding their experience to recognize their roles as global citizens. Jody serves as an example for her students with her own commitment to lifelong learning which culminated in her PhD in Philosophy in Curriculum Leadership at Marian University in 2016.

Her former students, some of whom have become her colleagues, state what an impact Jody has made on all of them, through her passion for the language and culture, her passion for lifelong learning, and the travel experiences she has given them.

Jody is constantly giving back to her own community of students as well as to the community of world language educators on a local, state, regional, and national level. Jody’s contributions to WAFLT, including serving currently as the MOPI Training Coordinator, as well as to her colleagues, and especially to her students embody the very best of the WAFLT Distinguished Language Educator Award.

Dr. Jody Reif Zeimann

2021 Anthony J. Gradisnik Award

Each year, since 1998, WAFLT has had the honor of presenting the Anthony J. Gradisnik Award, which commemorates Mr. Gradisnik’s exceptional enthusiasm and advocacy for language education. Mr. Gradisnik, who began his career as a Spanish Teacher after World War II, was a foreign language curriculum specialist for Milwaukee Public Schools from 1959 to 1979. This award is presented to an individual or group—especially from outside the world language teaching profession—in such areas as international education, early language learning, and creative initiatives in language education. WAFLT is proud to announce this year’s recipient of the Anthony J. Gradisnik Award, Dianne Seyler, the La Crosse–Epinal Sister City Committee Chair. For over 30 years, the La Crosse–Epinal Sister City Committee has fostered an exchange between the cities of La Crosse, WI and Epinal, France. Originally started as a cultural exchange as a result of Trane Company being based in La Crosse and having a factory in Epinal, it has grown into an annual student exchange program, official government delegation visits, and athletic and music exchanges. What is most impressive about this committee is that even though the official exchange is between the city of La Crosse, members have always included French programs from Holmen, Onalaska, and Aquinas High Schools.

As stated by the nominator: Dianne, in her role as Committee Chair of the La Crosse–Epinal Sister City Committee, has helped promote the mission of promoting a deeper cultural understanding between the two cities. The presence of the sister city relationship is ever present

Dianne Seyler

around the city of La Crosse and in Epinal, France. Epinal’s official symbol can be found in a fountain in downtown La Crosse and, within Riverside Park of La Crosse, there is a French section within the International Gardens. On the other side of the Atlantic, one will find the Native American statues in a park that honors Epinal's sister cities.

One of the most important aspects of Dianne and the La Crosse–Epinal Sister City Committee is the high school student exchange program. Each summer, one group of young adults from one city travel to the other city and stay with a host sibling for three weeks. It is truly an immersive experience where students from Epinal come to the Coulee Region and are able to live “the American Dream,” and the following summer, our students are able to travel to Epinal to live “à la française.” Over the 30 plus years of exchanges, there have been at least 600 students from both sides that have participated in the exchange and have had the invaluable experience of learning another language and culture through this immersive cultural exchange.

It is important to note that the La Crosse–Epinal Sister City Committee receives no funding from the city of La Crosse. Dianne has put in countless hours and effort into fundraisers in order to keep the exchange moving forward. In addition to fundraising and hosting government delegations each year from Epinal, the committee also provides students participating in the exchange with scholarships to help offset the cost of travel. The work that Dianne and her committee do is truly remarkable and makes a difference in the lives of students on a global scale.

2021 Frank M. Grittner New Teacher Award

The Frank M. Grittner New Teacher Award is presented to a new member of our profession who has shown excellence in teaching and has provided leadership in service to school, community, and professional organizations. The award honors Frank Grittner, a tireless promoter of high standards for language teacher preparation in our schools as the Wisconsin State Foreign Language supervisor from 1961 to 1991.

This year, WAFLT is proud to award the Frank M. Grittner New Teacher Award to Rebekah Krenz.

Rebekah has taught Spanish for three years at Oregon High School. As her nominator states, Rebekah is an independent thinker who desires to collaborate with others. She approaches her work with dedication and innovation, which elevates all of her colleagues’ work in creating lessons and developing curriculum. Rebekah is the epitome of the caring educator. She is a selfless advocate for students and learning. She has made a concerted effort during online learning to connect with her students to help them achieve success and builds in extra time to meet with each student to help them through concepts and understanding.

As her principal states: Rebekah is a talented teacher in her department. She has shown immense creativity in her lesson design and in her execution of standards-based, activity-driven learning. She believes that students have the ability to master the language and provides the right mix of challenge and support for her learners. He also states that she has personified excellence in her teaching and has promoted the value and virtue of pursuing the study of world languages.

Rebekah Krenz

2021 WAFLT Teacher of the Year

Each year, WAFLT nominates one of its members for the ACTFL Foreign Language K-12 National Teacher of the Year (TOY). This year’s nominee

Deborah Hoem-Esparza.

Deborah is a Spanish instructor at Milwaukee Area Technical College. As stated by her nominator, she is a tireless and effective advocate for world language education. She is passionate and effective at making language and culture come alive for her students, and she is creative and effective at making her department’s vision a reality. The world language department at MATC is very much

Deborah Hoem-Esparza

alive because of the seeds that Deborah was able to sow over a decade ago. She masterfully took a program from the brink of elimination to what is today a strong and cohesive team, 20-plus strong. She did this by modeling excellent pedagogy, motivating students, inspiring colleagues, and winning the case of the value of second language education to administration.

In her teaching, Deborah embraces the challenge of naturally integrating language and culture. She places a high premium on getting students to not only know “how to say what,” but, as our National Standards suggest, to knowing “how, when, and why to say what to whom.” It is safe to describe the students that leave her classroom as possessing a great deal of curiosity for becoming more culturally competent as well as being able to communicate on a variety of topics in Spanish. Deborah continues going well beyond the call of duty and never stops dreaming.

Deborah will represent Wisconsin in March 2022 at the virtual Central States Conference (CSCTFL). WAFLT is exceedingly proud to have such a deserving candidate!

2021 Recognition of Merit Awards

The Recognition of Merit is presented annually to individuals who have demonstrated excellence in teaching or who have made significant contributions to the language teaching profession. This year the awards committee is pleased to present this award to the following remarkable recipients. Jessica King, Stormonth Elementary School

Jessica King

Jessica, who teaches Spanish at Stormonth Elementary School in Fox Point, WI, goes above and beyond not only for her students, but also for the world language teacher community. As stated by her nominator, Jessica works to help teachers and students professionally through her participation in AATSP WI, NNELL, and the WAFLT Board. In her position as NNELL Representative for WI, Jessica is pivotal in planning and putting on the annual FlesFest in our state. She also provides opportunities for her students to participate in language learning advocacy each year by giving them the opportunity to participate in the WAFLT Postcard Contest and the AATSP Poster Contest, both of which help build her program and early language learning in our state and nation. Jessica recognizes the need for teaching languages at an early age and works to help teachers build their program and to network with other teachers of early language learners.

Kellie Villalobos, Muskego High School

Kellie Villalobos

Kellie, who is a Spanish teacher and World Language Department Chair at Muskego High School, is a dedicated world language educator who creates positive relationships with her students and other teachers, and is involved in countless ways both within her school district and within the state, including serving as the WAFLT Treasurer. As her nominator states, Kellie is always willing to take on additional teaching responsibilities for the good of the department. As a colleague, she is always willing to share ideas, lesson plans, technological resources and insights into what is working well in her classroom. She is also continually seeking to learn from her colleagues and is excited to hear about new resources or activities that she could use in her classroom. She has a positive attitude and a good rapport with her students. In all of her roles, she advocates for the importance of learning a world language.

2021 Certificate of Professional Service

The WAFLT Professional Service Award is presented annually to recent retirees who have served both the profession and their students in providing quality world language education.

John Pustejovsky, Marquette University

John Pustegovsky

John, who recently retired from Marquette University, has made an incredible impact in the field of world language education and beyond. As stated by his nominator, John is a catalyst for growth for his students and for language teachers not only in Wisconsin but also on a national level. He has been influential to all of his students, current and past. A few of his many accomplishments throughout his career include 25 years as a Fulbright Program Advisor, 23 years serving as

Chairperson of the Esther Hudgins Scholarship Committee to honor his former teacher and colleague through which he helped to grow the fund to $500,000 so that $20,000 worth of scholarships could be given annually to German majors. He has presented multiple times at WAFLT, hosted professional development workshops for middle and high school teachers, collaborated with others from WAFLT and ACTFL, and in 2007, his course, Modern German Short Story Seminar was named one of the 25 best world language courses at U.S. Colleges and Universities by the ETS Benchmarking Project. In his 37 years in education, John has done invaluable work for all languages at Marquette University, within the state, and on a national level.

2021 Future Language Teacher Award

Devin Pettys

Devin Pettys graduated from the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse and completed his student teaching in French at Onalaska High School. As his nominator states, Devin’s strongest asset is his ability to build positive relationships with students. He is able to dissect course content and help students make deeper meaning of the material by making connections. Additionally, Devin creates a classroom environment where students respect each other, work well together, and continue to meet his high expectations for learning. He is enthusiastic and ready to become a member of the greater learning community. Devin is currently in his first year of teaching French at Onalaska High School.

As we celebrate the 2021 Award Honorees, please consider nominating a colleague, student, or friend of language education for a future WAFLT award. More information can be found at waflt.org.

WAFLT Honors in Language Study Awards (Top Student)

The Honors in Language Study Award is conferred on students who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in and commitment to their school’s language programs. High school and university students must be enrolled in the highest level of study of their programs.

Student Jennifer A. Cassandra C. Sophonisba F. Joseph K. Katie K. Michaela K. Kurtis N. Madeline P. Emma S. Mariana T. Ella W. Madeline W.

Language(s) Mandarin, Spanish Spanish German German German Spanish French Spanish German French Spanish Spanish

Nominator Quihong Zhang Jody Reif Ziemann Mark Wagner Carley Goodkind Jeffrey Dyer Josh LeGreve Ellen Onsrud Ellen Onsrud Bobbette Leu Timermann Charlotte Wichert Deanah Downey Catalina Cabello WAFLT Excellence in Language Study Awards (All Levels)

The Excellence in Language Study Award may be conferred on students who have demonstrated great achievement and progress in language study and who exhibit great potential for achievement in the language.

Student Cecilia B. Katie D. Ben F. Gabe M. Julia S. Ruby S. Anna Z.

Language(s) Spanish German German German Spanish German Mandarin

Nominator Jody Reif Ziemann Michael Koch Jeffrey Dyer Carley Goodkind Catalina Cabello Bobbette Leu Timermann Quihong Zhang

National Board Certified/Recertified Teachers (as of December 2020)

Honoree

Language Danielle Chaussee Spanish Brian Wopat French Marta Yedinak Spanish

School District Oconomowoc SD Onalaska SD Ripon Area SD