A message from 2023 NYSAFLT President Marissa Coulehan
Hello NYSA-friends and colleagues,
Welcome to what I now am affectionately referring to as “busy season.” Although one could argue that every season is a “busy season” depending on your schedule, it is also a time to be with loved ones, recharge with some downtime, and reflect on the year.
**December challenge: What do Maureen Lamb, Bertha Delgadillo, Will Anderson, Julia Koch, Abi Cleary, Joshua Cabral, and Joe Dale have in common?
NYSAFLT is proud to announce that we are ending the year on a high note! Our membership numbers are up. Our conference attendance was up. And, we welcomed over 100 new attendees to our Annual Conference in Syracuse back in October. Thank you for your continued support during this record-breaking year and beyond.
Being a member of a professional organization like NYSAFLT continues to give me life. We support one another, help to problem-solve issues in the profession, advocate for programs and students, and we are constantly evolving to be more inclusive in our classrooms. Thank you for all that you do in and out of the classrooms to make our world a better place for generations to come.
As I reflect on my presidential year, I am proud of all that our team has accomplished this year:
- NYSAFLT has officially changed our association name to be more inclusive.
- We have a standing DEI committee doing amazing work to fulfill our updated mission and vision, including a new scholarship to support Teachers of Indigenous Languages.
- Leadership is continuously engaged in discussion about membership, including how to maximize professional development opportunities during conferences (both in-person and virtual) and virtual workshops.
- NYSAFLT unveiled a new strategic plan to guide our work for the next five years with four overarching goals:
- Centering marginalized voices;
- Member recruitment and engagements: taking membership to new places;
- Outlets for collaboration on challenges and opportunities in the profession; and
- Advocacy for the profession: reviving the world language teacher community.
Warmly,
Marissa Coulehan
NYSAFLT President 2023