1. education
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COLORADO CONFERENCE OF
FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS
Affiliated with the Southwest Conference on Language Teaching and the
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
Thank you CCFLT members!
In This Issue
CCFLT members made an impressive showing at the
2015 SWCOLT conference; more than 300 members
were in attendance. That’s nearly 100% of our current membership! As well, 39 of you shared the
great work we are doing in world language education in Colorado by presenting at the conference.
We thank you for your continued financial support. It has allowed us to
expand our support of all Colorado World Language teachers through
the new additions of professional development webinars accessible to all
and workshops for teachers working outside of the Front Range area.
Visit www.ccflt.org to find announcement for all that we are doing to
support World Language Education in Colorado.
If you were unable to renew your membership, you can do so at any
time at www.regonline.com/ccflt. Be sure to click on “Join Now”. If you
have colleagues who have not joined yet, they may do so at this same
site.
Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers
Volume 34 Issue 2
Spring 2015
Spring 2015
Page 2
President’s Letter
Page 3
Job Openings
Page 4
Fall Conference
Flyer
Page 6
Be an EPIC Teacher
Page 7
Project-Based
Learning
Page 8
Colorado German
Day
Page 10
We’re all
Magicians!
Page 11
Professional
Development
Page 12
Spring Conference
Award Winners
Page 13
Advocacy Update
Page 15
Board of Directors
Page 16
Why Serve?
Page 1
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
President’s Letter
Happy Spring! Where did this last year go? I can’t believe that
this is my last welcome letter as CCFLT President! It has truly been a remarkable
year in which I was fortunate to meet and work with so many wonderful and
amazing educators. As your president and president-elect, I have been honored
and humbled to represent CCFLT at numerous conferences and meetings: Central
States in St. Louis, SWCOLT in Las Vegas and Snowbird, Utah, ACTFL in Orlando
and San Antonio. In meetings with leaders from other states as well as ACTFL
leadership, I’m proud to say that CCFLT as the reputation as one of the strongest
state organizations. This past year, in addition to ‘hobnobbing’ with the ‘fancy’
ACTFL people :) a highlight for me was advocating for world languages in Washington D.C. at the JNCL-NCLIS conference. Janine Erickson, CCFLT Advocacy liaison, and I spent an exciting day last May advocating for world languages with Colorado senators and
members of congress and we are looking forward to repeating this experience this May.
My last conference as your president was the SWCOLT-CCFLT joint conference in February. The
‘worker bees’ for this conference were the CCFLT board members and we received numerous compliments
for how smoothly everything went. The SWCOLT board members reported that this conference was one of
the largest and most successful in recent years! There were over 340 Colorado teachers in attendance. I
would like to thank all of the amazing presenters, exhibitors, student volunteers, sponsors, award and grant
recipients, essay writers, video makers, past presidents, and general attendees for coming together to participate in our continuing efforts to provide such a positive professional opportunity in the area of world
language education. Most of all, however, I would like to thank the CCFLT Board of Directors -- you are
amazing! Without you and your hard work, there would not have been a conference. Without your passion
and dedication there would not be our new CLEAR Awards, Google Hangouts, Webinars, miniconferences, a new and improved website and digital newsletter!
Two of our board members, Matthew Webster and Jenny Beltman, are finishing their terms in May.
To Matthew and Jenny: Thank you for your passion, enthusiasm and commitment. We will miss you! I am
thrilled to be able to pass the presidential torch to such a strong leader as our next president, Becky Loftus.
She has already begun planning all the traditional CCFLT events and activities, as well as some new ideas of
her own. You will be hearing about all of these in the upcoming year. Have a wonderful end of the school
year, and a restful and restorative summer vacation. I have really enjoyed serving as president this year and
have greatly appreciated your enthusiastic support.
Thanks for a wonderful year!
Diana Noonan
CCFLT President 2014-2015
Diana_noonan@dpsk12.org
Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers
Spring 2015
Page 2
SWCOLT Student Volunteers ROCK!
by Nina Barber
Student volunteers from our local universities helped out at the SWCOLT / CCFLT
conference in February. Their tasks included stuffing bags, working at the CCFLT
Garage Sale, and distributing and collecting evaluations. In their free time, volunteers processed the evaluations and attended sessions that interested them. Several of the student volunteers presented at a Friday morning session, and then immediately
after began their volunteer labors.
Many thanks to Casey Vavrina; Rob Osborne; Anabela Vanesa Valerioti; Jacquelyn Moody; Jake Wedgeworth; Iris Guo; Dulci M-G; Bridget
McFadden; Wendy-Anne Hamrick; Jessica Guindon; Nicole Pranger;
Jacob Budde and Danny Taylor. Many of the volunteers showed up
to work extra hours. CCFLT would like to thank these fine World
Language students for their effort and energy!
CCFLT is now posting
jobs for world
language teachers on
our webpage! To
check for job openings, go to
www.ccflt.org and
hover over the Resources tab.
When the Resources
menu opens, there is a
link to the job
postings.
Are you on Twitter? Follow
@CCFLT for current events
and happenings. This is the
great place to find links for
professional development
and resources
Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers
Spring 2015
If your school has an
opening you would
like listed, please send
the information to:
execsec@ccflt.org.
Page 3
Chris Biffle
CCFLT Fall Conference
October 3 2015
“If a student’s whole
brain is involved in
learning, there isn't
any mental area left
over for challenging
behavior.”
WatchWhole Brain Teaching in action on YouTube
Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers
Spring 2015
Page 4
Përshëndetje! That’s Albanian for “Hello!” I am
writing my last article for the CCFLT newsletter as I go
through Pre-Service Training for the Peace Corps in Elbasan, Albania. I’ll be in this country for the next 27
months. I’ll be working for the Department of Education
as a teacher trainer. I also talked with the president of
the English Language Teachers Association (the Albanian
equivalent of ACTFL) and am excited to work with him
and his organization over the next two years. All the
great resources I gained over my tenure on the Executive
Board of CCFLT is going to help me greatly as I collaborate with this organization.
I gained so much from my time with CCFLT and I am eternally grateful for everything that CCFLT has allowed me to learn and do. Above all, I am most thankful for the wonderful friendships I have made with
so many incredible world language teachers from throughout Colorado.
Two years ago I had no idea that I would now be living in Albania as a Peace Corps Volunteer and I have
no idea where I’ll be after this adventure. However, I hope that we can stay connected and that maybe
our paths will cross again in the future!
Mirupafshim dhe falemnderit! (Good-bye and thank you!)
Cristin Bleess
Looking for some new ideas or inspiration?
cristinbleess@yahoo.com
CCFLT will be continuing a webinar series for 2015 that will focus on professional development. These webinars will be available for members
and will include a variety of topics such as:

technology in the classroom

reading strategies

using current events in the classroom

connecting your classroom to the real world
Check your inbox for invites to live webinars. Check the “members only”
resource tab on the CCFLT website for archived webinars.
Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers
Spring 2015
Page 5
The TELL Project wants YOU to be an EPIC teacher!
by Connie Navarro
If you have ever been evaluated by someone who has no idea
what actually happens in a World Language classroom, you
know the frustration of feedback tools that don’t actually help
you measure your effectiveness, or help you become a more
effective language teacher.
Thomas Sauer presented Thursday at SWCOLT about the TELL
Project (Teacher Effectiveness for Language Learning), an organization that seeks to define what makes
for an effective language teachers. Using an extensive body of research, TELL has identified seven areas
that are integral to maximizing student language learning:
Environment: How do you create a safe and supportive learning
environment to prepare for student learning?

The Learning Experience: How do you provide meaningful learning experiences that advance student learning?

Collaboration: How does your collaboration with stakeholders
support student learning?

Planning: How does your planning of learning experiences prepare for student learning?

Performance & Feedback: How do you and your students use performance and feedback to advance student learning?

 Professionalism: How does your continued growth as a professional support student learning?

Learning Tools: How do you and your students capitalize on a
variety of learning tools to maximize student learning?
TELL has a framework to fully examine the areas above, as well reflective tools and resources, all designed specifically for World Language
teachers by World Language teachers. Visit their website
(www.tellproject.org) to access Self Assessments and Feedback Tools for observers –like your administrator (who may or may not speak your target language). And it is ALL FREE!
TELL wants YOU to be an EPIC teacher! Head to the website (www.tellproject.org/tools/epic-growthplan/). Envision, Plan, Implement, Collect: a personal growth plan model. Download simple (or in depth)
self reflection tools to help you
Thomas Sauer is the Director of Design and Communication for Advance
Learning and an independent consultant. He previously held positions as world
language specialist in the Fayette County Public Schools and Jefferson County
Public Schools for almost ten years and taught German at the University of
Kentucky.
Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers
Spring 2015
Page 6
Project-Based Language Learning
By Noah Geisel
One of the most popular sessions at SWCOLT was Project-Based Language Learning by Don Doehla, California’s Language Teacher of the Year (TOY). The standing-room-only crowd laughed and even cried with
Don as we learned about this powerful approach to teaching and learning.
The key to Project-Based Learning (PBL) is that it isn’t about projects
but rather inquiry. According to Don, PBL starts with a Driving Question that will hook learners. He stressed that it is distinct from an Essential Question in that it “pushes inquiry further and is open-ended
(but with direction).”
Another element of PBL that begs a shift in practice involves the roles
of teachers and students. Students are charged with taking ownership over the learning driven by their own “need to know.” They investigate, explain and reflect upon the Driving Question, while challenging themselves to remain in the target language. Teachers
meanwhile, are tasked to coach, guide and push students with reflective questions.
“When a student asks ‘Why is ___?’ we teachers respond, “Good question. Why is that? What do you
think?” explained Don. Teachers want to encourage students to exercise voice and choice in all aspects of
their inquiry, including the platform they use to share their learning. PBL culminates with students producing a product at the end of the unit that is theirs.
For additional resources, access Don’s presentation at https://drdmd.wordpress.com/swcolt15/ and visit
Laura Sexton’s blog http://www.pblinthetl.com/ (Laura presented our Spring CCFLT webinar).
2015-2016 Teacher of the Year
Call for Nomination!
CCFLT is proud to recognize teachers who go above and beyond in
the classroom for our world language students. Our Grants and
Awards Committee is accepting applications for the 2015-2016
CCFLT Teacher of the Year. The application deadline is May 1.
Please visit the Grants and Awards page at www.ccflt.org to access
the Teacher of the Year application and rubric. Please also direct
any questions to Kristy Swartwood at grants_awards@ccflt.org
Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers
Spring 2015
Page 7
Colorado German Day by Amy Flynn
The second annual Colorado German Day, an event that celebrates
study of German with educational, cultural and competitive events,
took place at Ponderosa High School on February 13, 2015. 93 students from 5 schools and 27 volunteers from took part in 26 separate
competitions, including oral, written and visual events. We are already
looking forward to next year’s event which will be on February 12, 2016,
location TBA.
Here is what some of our students had to say about the event:
"Colorado German Day was a very educational experience. The activities
were very fun, while also being informative." Seth S., Bear Creek HS
“Es war gut. German Day is da bomb!” Connor A., Columbine HS
“Not only was German Day a great cultural experience, it was a blast.” Jack
S., Columbine HS
“German Day was really fun. I really want to do it next year!” Jacob S.,
Ponderosa HS
Entry, Original Art Competition
Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers
Spring 2015
Visit the
Colorado
German
Day
Website
Page 8
Colorado German Day by Amy Flynn
Nine years ago I joined CCFLT, and I have been active
with this organization because of the benefit I have received from it. What I’ve learned from the workshops
and conferences produced by CCFLT have helped make
me a better teacher, but I also have to credit CCFLT for
helping make one of my biggest dreams come true.
When I moved to Colorado in 2005 and started teaching German, I immediately started looking for a German
competition similar to what I had experienced with my
students in Texas during the years I taught in there.
The Texas State
Co-Founder Jonathan Gigler and his Ponderosa HS
German Contest is
Team
a state wide event
wherein students can
compete in over 30 oral, visual and written events.
I knew that UNC offered an excellent world language day with a
long and proud heritage, but I wanted my students to have an experience like I’d seen in Texas. However, my dream of establishing a state wide German contest was overwhelming enough to
put it on the back burner… indefinitely.
Pass auf! Trivia Bowl
Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers
Then, in
the
summer
Entry, T-Shirt Design
of 2013,
I was contacted by
Jonathan Gigler, a new-to-Colorado teacher
who also wanted to start a state German
contest after his experience with Alabama
German Day. He contacted CCFLT, and one
of the board members put him in touch with
me. And now, two years later, we are planning for our third event. The connection we
both made through CCFLT helped us realize
our vision for our students, one that we hope
to continue to foster and grow for years to
come.
Spring 2015
Page 9
We're all Magicians!
By Michele Sachs
The best compliment I ever received during my career teaching French
came from a 9th grader who out of the blue told me: "Madame Sachs, you're
a real Mary Poppins!" Flattered as well as surprised, I asked the student to
explain the correlation, to which she replied: "Because we never know what
you'll be pulling out of your bag, it's like magic, and because in your class
we get the chance to play and move around a lot." I often fondly recall this
touching comment in recognizing that we language teachers are indeed
fortunate by teaching a subject that lends itself so readily to organizing games and introducing kinetic activities, and in so doing we get to fill the shoes of our colleagues in physical education, art, music or even theater.
When I joined the Peak-to-Peak Charter faculty in Lafayette ten years ago as a French instructor at the elementary levels, my mission consisted of exposing the school's K-5 students to the French language, along
the same lines as my Spanish counterpart. Every day, I would enter the classroom with my tools of the trade,
pulling from my Poppins' bag a variety of masks, puppets and beanbags for 30 minutes of "fun in French".
These experiences required a good dose of energy on my part, but in exchange the responses were extremely gratifying, through the eagerness expressed by students, who always greeted their "magician" with
the broadest of smiles. The host elementary teachers would explain how their classes looked forward to the
change of pace offered by my brief interlude. As full-fledged participants to my sessions, these teachers left
me free reign to reconfigure the room's tables and chairs in order to accommodate the given activity program. It was during these interventions that I realized the importance of spatial organization in the classroom and the need for a modular environment when engaged in language learning activities.
So a few years later, when I transitioned to the Peak-to-Peak high school, I made every effort to transfer the
valuable kinetic and spatial lessons learned while in contact with the younger-aged pupils. After six years of
exclusive high school experience, I'm fully aware of the extent to which my pedagogy focuses on movement
and an optimal utilization of space available inside the classroom. Whether teaching beginners or advanced
levels, I ensure that each of my courses contains at least 10-15 minutes devoted to some type of kinetic
learning.
Among my activities that draw the most widespread enthusiasm, many involve marking up the floor (having
cement flooring in the classroom simplifies the set-up). As an example, let's take what I call "My Personal
Space". This activity is typically introduced at the beginning of the school year for beginners under the
"Greetings" chapter. The objective here is to have the students build appreciation for what constitutes a
comfortable personal space across different cultures. Students are paired and stand a good distance apart.
One at a time, they'll approach their partner and mark off exactly where they feel the boundary of this comfort zone lies. These markings are then easily compared among pairs, and the results often lead to valuable
insights and perspectives, helping set the stage for, in many cases, an initial exposure to "foreign" language.
Another activity involving floor markings is what I call the Time Machine, with the aim here of having the
student move along a timeline in sync with the verb tenses I'm announcing out loud to the entire class. A
variant consists of asking each student to place three differently colored sheets of paper (e.g. pink for past
tense, blue for present, green for future) and then jump on the appropriate sheet once I read off a verb conjugated in a particular tense. Examples of such kinetically-inspired activities flourish and while our high
schoolers might not always be in an energetic mood, they're still kids at heart and get just as much benefit
out of moving around the classroom as their younger schoolmates.
Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers
Spring 2015
Page 10
Professional Development
Personalize it!
By Joanne Russum
Many times when we hear the words “Professional Development” we roll our eyes or cringe thinking about mind numbing in-service meetings where we discuss student data and
instructional practices that frequently don’t relate to the
World Language classroom. We approach these opportunities with a fixed mindset and a self-defeatist attitude. We (I)
are sure that it’s going to be awful. After coming home from the SWCOLT/CCFLT conference on March 1st,
I decided to reframe my thinking about PD.
Professional development is just like the educational experience we ideally should be providing our students with; it needs to be personalized. My professional needs are not the same as another teacher’s
needs. Therefore, just like my students, I need to take control of my own learning.
At the SWCOLT conference, Thomas Sauer pointed out to us that we need to focus on what we really
want our students to be able to do, to produce, to retain.
Thinking about PD, what is it that I really want to know,
improve, and implement in my classroom, and where can
I learn more about it?
It is my responsibility to take control of my own Professional Development. I’ve been an on again and off again
#Langchat lurker and participant, and I’ve had some
meaningful conversations based on #Langchat topics. I
have several blogs I love to drop in on, such as The Creative Language Classroom. I was so excited that Kara Parker from The Creative Language Classroom presented at SWCOLT! I walked away with some great ideas
on using stations in the classroom! For me that is the key part of PD, what can I walk away with and use
right away?
Up next on my personal PD schedule are some webinars and a graduate school program that will enable
me to study abroad again! So, I challenge you, what’s up on your own PD calendar? There are CCFLT New
teacher Google Hangouts, upcoming SWCOLT and CCFLT webinars, and the AATSP conference in Denver
this summer for Spanish teachers, AP and IB workshops. Go out and take charge of your own PD and personalize your own experience!
Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers
Spring 2015
Page 11
Friend of Foreign Language
Norbert Frueh
2015 CCFLT Spring Conference Award Winners
The CCFLT Grants and Awards Committee received quite a few submissions for our student and teacher awards this spring. Congratulations to all of our award winners, and thanks very much to all individuals who submitted applications. Below are the 2015 Spring Student
Award Winners:

Elementary Student Essay: Teacher, Chin Chin Fan

Middle School Student Essay: Teacher, Celsa Rutan

Secondary Student Essay: Teacher, Linette Santiagonavas

University Student Essay: Teacher, Maria Lopez

Elementary Student Video – Teacher, Chin Chin Fan

Middle School Student Video – Teacher, William Gonzalez

Secondary Student Essay – Teacher, Linette Santiagonavas
CCFLT is fortunate to have such a wonderful teacher community. Our
winners of the teacher awards exemplify world language teaching and
leading.
New Teacher Scholarship
Drew Legan
Kris Wells’ Memorial Creativity Award
Claudia Sandridge
Friend of Foreign Language
Genevieve Overman Memorial Service
Lynn Sandstedt Program Leadership Award
Anna Huffman
Award Anna Crocker
Dr. Ismenia DeSouza
Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers
Spring 2015
Page 12
TIE ONE ON AT SWCOLT
By Nina Barber
The most unusual session I attended this
year at SWCOLT (or at any conference I have ever
attended) was a presentation by “The Apron Lady”,
EllynAnne Geisel. The Saturday afternoon session
was fascinating and was a refreshing change from 2
days of frantic note-taking and snapping photos of
PowerPoint slides with my phone.
EllynAnne’s stories would make me laugh.
It was an emotional hour of warmth and
joy. We all left with our aprons, thinking
of storytelling, and with the feeling of superiority that we had attended the best
session of SWCOLT.
Advocacy Update
By Janine Erickson
Every year at the annual conference of the
Southwest Conference on Language
Teaching leaders from each of the nine
SWCOLT states meet for a Leadership
Breakfast along with other luminaries of
the profession.
Entering the room, I was instructed to don an
apron and take a seat. I looked around to see that
the other session attendees wore aprons. The presenter wore an apron with her motto, “Tie One
On...An Apron, of course!” We all sat sheepishly in
our aprons, feeling a tiny bit uncomfortable.
And then EllynAnne Geisel began to tell the
first story. I sat down and listened, and began to
relax. She held up apron after apron, telling us the
story of each one: the grandmother who waitressed, the mother who put on her fancy apron
when the husband got home, the little girl who
drank Coca-Cola from a bottle that sported a tiny
apron with a straw pocket.
Each story took me back to another place
and time. I thought about my own mother and her
aprons. I got a little teary. And then another of
Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers
This year Colorado was again well represented at the breakfast with Diana
Noonan, Becky Loftus, Noah Geisel, Toni
Theisen, Judy Cale and Janine Erickson.
Also attending this year were VIP guests
Bill Rivers, Executive Director of the JNCLNCLIS in Washington D.C., Paul Sandrock,
ACTFL Director of Education and Nicole
Naditz, CA and ACTFL 2015 Teacher of the
Year.
Seal of Biliteracy
State leaders reported on activities ongoing in their states. Common among many
of those states is the effort being made to
gather support for a Seal of Biliteracy. A
biliteracy seal on a high school diploma is
visible evidence to students, parents, administrators, college admissions officials,
and employers of the importance of learning languages. At least five SWCOLT
states, California, Hawaii, Nevada, New
Mexico and Utah, have already enacted
legislation to support this effort with Arizona, Oklahoma, and Texas currently
working toward a biliteracy seal or similar
Spring 2015
Page 13
Advocacy Report Cont’d...
recognition of proficiency in a second language. Colorado is a local control state so individual districts
can make efforts to garner support for adopting a seal with their school boards. For helpful information on how to go about getting a seal at the local level you can download talking points on the
ACTFL website at actfl.org/advocacy/resources.
America’s language lobbyist, Bill Rivers, Executive Director of the Joint National Committee for Languages and the National Council for Languages and International Studies (JNCL-NCLIS ) reported on a
very important topic that we can act on now.
As you may know, the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee of the United States Senate
has released a draft of the new Elementary and Secondary Education Act, (formerly No Child Left Behind, NCLB) which you can read at http://www.help.senate.gov/imo/media/AEG15033.pdf .
Most important to us is that the draft bill does not contain any provisions for world languages, and
drops the Foreign Language Assistance Act entirely.
The Senate Committee is accepting public comment on the draft bill. Leadership at JNCL-NCLIS President Marty Abbott and Mr. Rivers urge you to write to FixingNCLB@help.senate.gov. They have provided us with a template, which you may use to send an email to the Committee. Click here for the template
Making the Case for Language in 2015
Mr. Rivers shared sound advice in his session “Making the Case for Language in 2015” where he emphasized the importance of global skills as fundamental to responsible citizenship in the 21st Century.
The need for global skills has never been as dynamic and challenging, while influencing the growth and
fulfillment of our future workforce and carrying significant implications for global security, economic
growth, and social justice, not only in the US but worldwide. ACTFL, JNCL-NCLIS, CAL, American Councils, CASL and others are collaborating to assess the impact of foreign languages on education, global
security, economic growth, and social justice.
JNCL-NCLIS is available to help and asks that you let them by getting and staying involved.

Make your class and program the best it can be

Engage in continual professional development

Engage in activities of your state organization

Engage in activities of your regional and national organization
CCFLT President Diana Noonan and Colorado State Advocacy Team Leader Janine Erickson will attend
JNCL-NCLIS Language Advocacy Days May 6-8 in Washington D.C.
ACTFL’s Director of Education, Paul Sandrock, introduced the Leadership Initiative for Language Learning (LILL) that seeks to empower individuals to become agents for change, foster a growth mindset focused on effective teaching and learning, and purposefully nurture leadership skills, all in the service of
learners. The first Summer Institute will take place July 21-23 at The Ohio State University in Columbus,
Ohio. Congratulations to Colorado elementary teacher in Denver, Karen Carmean, who was selected to represent the SWCOLT at this inaugural training
institute.
Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers
Spring 2015
Page 14
Colorado Conference of
Foreign Language Teachers
Published September, January
and April
www.ccflt.org
Julie Doyle, Editor
jdoyle@jeffco.k12.co.us
Have a question about dues?
Please email Kristen Boehm
CCFLT Executive Treasurer:
exectreas.ccflt@gmail.com
Advertising rates and policies:
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CCFLT Board of Directors
POSITION
EDUCATIONAL ROLE
Diana Noonan
President (French)
World Languages Coordinator, Denver
Public Schools
Cristin Bleess
Past-President (Spanish)
Becky Loftus
President-Elect (Spanish)
Oberon MS, Jefferson County Public
Schools
Nina Barber
Elementary/Secondary Representative (Spanish)
Thomas Jefferson High School, DPS
Jenny Beltman
Elementary/Secondary Representative (French/Spanish)
Aspen Elementary School
Karen Carmean
Elementary/Secondary Representative (Spanish)
Sabin World Elementary, DPS
Noah Geisel
Elementary/Secondary Representative (Spanish)
East High School
Joanne Russum
Elementary/Secondary Representative (Spanish)
Grandview High School, Cherry Creek
School District
Kristy Swartwood
Elementary/Secondary Representative (Spanish)
Englewood Middle
School, Englewood School District
Matthew Webster
Elementary/Secondary Representative (Spanish)
Mountain Ridge Middle School, Colorado Springs
Heather Witten
Elementary/Secondary Representative (Spanish)
Elizabeth High School, Elizabeth School
District
Bryce Hedstrom
Elementary/Secondary Representative (Spanish)
Roosevelt High School
Connie Navarro
Elementary/Secondary Representative (Spanish)
Denver Public Schools Peer Observer
Richard Dodge
Post-secondary Representative
(French)
United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs
Elaine Tendetnik
Post-secondary Representative
(French)
United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs
Kristen Boehm
Executive Treasurer (Spanish)
Virtual Academy, Jefferson County Public Schools
Amy Flynn
Executive Secretary (German)
Jefferson County Public Schools, WL
Coordinator
Julie Doyle
Newsletter Editor
Evergreen Senior High
Edwige Simon
Webmaster
University of Colorado, Boulder
Janine Erickson
Advocacy Liaison
Denver Language School
Toni Theisen
CDE Liaison
Thompson Valley High School
Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers
Spring 2015
Page 15
Why Serve on the CCFLT Board?
The Board of Directors positions, which last for two academic years,
give members the opportunity to:

Practice Communication skills in at least two languages

Promote Connections at state, regional, and nation’s levels

Make Friendships all over the state

Gain Leadership and professional growth opportunities

Share Teaching tips, experiences and concerns
Do you know a colleague who might be?
The responsibilities:

Serve for two academic years (beginning the May after you are
elected)

Attend monthly meetings from August to May

Attend fall retreat in August

Work at the Spring Conference

Serve on a minimum of two committees; one Standing and one
Spring Conference committee

Chair a committee in your second year
Reimbursements and benefits include:

Up to twelve hours CDE recertification credit

Mileage at 25 cents per mile

Spring Conference registration and two luncheon meals

Fall Conference registration

Certificates for volunteer hours

Building statewide networking connections
Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers
Are you interested
in serving on the
CCFLT Board of Directors?
Serving on the Board
provides great opportunities for networking, collegiality, giving back to your profession, and most of
all, FUN.
To express your interest in running in the
next election, to nominate a colleague, or
to get more information, please contact:
Noah Geisel puravidanoah@gmail.com
I look forward to
hearing from you.
Winter 2015
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