2025-2026 Virtual Workshops

Recruitment Playbook: How to Keep Students Enrolled

Presenters: Marie Campanaro & Barb Patterson

Develop your recruitment playbook with multiple strategies for attracting and retaining world language students in your program. Compile materials which educate the school and local community that learning another language has a meaningful purpose. Explore successful world language programs and district incentives as well as collaborations with post-secondary institutions. Show students that proficiency in another language is attainable, a real-life skill, and gives them a competitive edge in college and career through the action steps and resources provided.

Marie Campanaro graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Secondary Spanish and English Educ from SUNY Brockport, and an MA in Elem Educ with a concentration in Bilingual Multicultural Educ. Now retired, she taught ELA and Spanish for 38 years. She has National Board Certification in WLOE. She was awarded the Lifetime Enrichment Grant: Nurturing Creativity in the Classroom; NYSAFLT Embassy of Spain Scholarship to Salamanca, NYSAFLT’s President Award, the Ferdinand DiBartolo Distinguished Leadership Award, NYSAFLT Anthony J. Papalia Award and JNCL-NCLIS Power of Advocacy Award. A past president of NYSAFLT, she remains involved as Public Advocacy Co-chair. 

Barbara Patterson holds a B.S. in Secondary Education Spanish, M.A. in Spanish and a C.A.S. degree. Barbara has taught Spanish for 31 years with experience in suburban, city and rural school districts. She is the committee chair of the NYSUT’s World Language Subject Area Committee and is the Co-chair of the NYSAFLT’s Public Advocacy Committee. As a Project Support Specialist at SUNY Oswego, Barbara works in conjunction with OBEWL at NYSED. Barbara served as NYSAFLT’s Assistant Director and LECNY’s Webmaster, Past President, President and Vice-President. She is the recipient of NYSAFLT’s President Award and received the Anthony J. Papalia Award with her Advocacy co-chair Marie Campanaro.

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A Peek at the 2025 NYSAFLT Annual Conference

Presenter: Wendy Mercado

The 2025 annual conference in Albany was a huge success, and we’re so glad you were a part of it! Whether you were in attendance and want to share your thoughts and experiences, or you missed out and are curious about what happened, this virtual “Unconference” is for you.

Join us for a chance to connect with fellow NYSAFLT members and discuss all the incredible memories, ideas, and inspiration from this year’s event. Bring your questions, stories, and suggestions for future events. This is a great opportunity to get a head start on a new school year with new ideas and connections!

VIEW RECORDING

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Lighting the Spark in AP Spanish: From Authentic Input to Projects That Truly Motivate

Presenter: Diego Ojeda

In this session, discover how to turn authentic resources into the driving force behind meaningful projects in AP Spanish Language and Culture. Go beyond exam prep to design learning experiences that align with the course’s six themes while igniting curiosity, creativity, and student voice. With ready-to-use strategies and real classroom examples, you’ll see how authentic input can inspire and empower learners—making AP Spanish not only rigorous, but relevant, motivating, and memorable.

Diego Ojeda is a passionate Spanish teacher, a comprehensible poetry author, a blogger and an accomplished world language teacher trainer and presenter. He has been recognized and awarded for his outstanding teaching style that he brings to the class and enjoys sharing with his colleagues. Diego is a native of Bogotá, Colombia, and has many years of experience teaching in his native country as well as in the United States.

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Canva + AI = The Perfect Pair

Presenter: Noemí Rodríguez

Let’s explore how Canva’s AI tools can transform your language classroom! There are SO many neat ways to utilize Canva + AI as a language teacher! Learn how to create engaging, visually appealing materials that enhance communicative tasks, foster creativity, and support language acquisition, one step at a time!

Noemí Rodríguez-Grimshaw is a veteran language educator who has been sharing and supporting teachers across the globe since 2005. As an award winning teacher, she specializes in language curriculum, assessment design, technology integration, reading and communication strategies. In 2014, 2024 and 2025, FLENJ awarded her workshops “Best of NJ” and in 2023, she earned the FLENJ President’s Award. She was also recognized as “Best of NECTFL” in 2025. She has presented workshops and delivered keynote speeches at state, regional, national and international conferences. Noemi also published her first guide: AI Innovation in the Language Classroom in 2024.

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Support Student Teamwork with GIAs

Presenter: Shannen Discavage

There is an ongoing conversation regarding direct instruction of grammar in the world language classroom. What if there was a way to indirectly teach grammar AND facilitate small group work at the same time? This teaching strategy will show educators how to meaningfully incorporate grammar in context, encourage students to work together to teach themselves grammar, and provide extension examples in class.

Shannen Discavage is a Spanish teacher for Checkpoint A students at Whitesboro Middle School in Central New York. She received her B.A. in Spanish from Marist College and her M.S. in Educational Theory and Practice from UAlbany. She was a 2023 NYSAFLT Leader of Tomorrow. When she is not teaching, she is the social media manager for Language Educators of Central New York (LECNY) and a co-chair for NYSAFLT’s Virtual Video Contest.

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Limited capital: a genealogy of culturelessness in (language) teacher education

Presenter: Tasha Austin

Through an exploration of culturelessness as a colonial construct, participants will be guided through the following reflective processes: they will firstly 1) denaturalize the concept of culture as being inherently ‘good,’ ‘bad,’ or missing altogether, then 2) contend with the racialization of culture as it manifests in minoritized community language practices, 3) grapple with the contradictions of using the economic analogy of ‘capital’ for culture, language, intellect (etc.), and, finally 4) consider the role of institutional actors in perpetuating, identifying and/or ultimately dismantling antiBlack constructs around what constitutes ‘capital’ in language learning.

Tasha Austin PhD is an assistant professor of teacher education, language education and multilingualism for SUNY Buffalo, Graduate School of Education. As a critical theorist, she engages Black feminist epistemologies to qualitatively examine language, identity and power through a raciolinguistic perspective, investigating the manifestations of antiBlackness in language education.

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Move It or Lose It: Keeping Students Engaged Through Movement

Presenter: Kaleigh Thomas

Boost engagement and language output by getting students out of their seats! This interactive session will showcase low-prep, movement-based activities that can reinforce vocabulary, grammar, and communication skills. Participants will leave with practical strategies collected over the years to implement in any world language classroom!

Kaleigh Thomas earned her MAT at SUNY New Paltz for French in 2012, and her BA in French in 2008 from Eastern University. This is currently her 12th year as French teacher Carmel Central Schools where she also serves as Department Chair. She has recently been re-elected to a second term as NYSAFLT Regional Director for Mid-Hudson/Westchester, as well as Secretary for PWRFL Educators. She loves helping students build communication skills in a new language snd seeing the world through a new lens.

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2024-2025 Virtual Workshops

Proposed Changes to NYS Graduation Requirements: How To Make World Languages a Priority

Presenters: Marie Campanaro & Barb Patterson

NYSED is in the process of rethinking graduation requirements. An overview of NYSED’s Blue Ribbon Commission’s (BRC) presentation to the Board of Regents on the proposed revisions will be shared. The BRC’s goals, their recommended four transformations and the implementation timeline will be reviewed. The NYS Learning Standards for World Languages (WL) directly relate to each of the transformations. All WL stakeholders must take action in order to ensure that WL become an integral part of future graduation requirements and teacher preparatory programs. Responses to the ThoughtExchange topics and a sample letter to Board of Regent members will be provided.

Marie Campanaro graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Secondary Spanish and English Educ from SUNY Brockport, and an MA in Elem Educ with a concentration in Bilingual Multicultural Educ. Now retired, she taught ELA and Spanish for 38 years. She has National Board Certification in WLOE. She was awarded the Lifetime Enrichment Grant: Nurturing Creativity in the Classroom; NYSAFLT Embassy of Spain Scholarship to Salamanca, NYSAFLT’s President Award, the Ferdinand DiBartolo Distinguished Leadership Award, NYSAFLT Anthony J. Papalia Award and JNCL-NCLIS Power of Advocacy Award. A past president of NYSAFLT, she remains involved as Public Advocacy Co-chair. 

Barbara Patterson holds a B.S. in Secondary Education Spanish, M.A. in Spanish and a C.A.S. degree. Barbara has taught Spanish for 31 years with experience in suburban, city and rural school districts. She is the committee chair of the NYSUT’s World Language Subject Area Committee and is the Co-chair of the NYSAFLT’s Public Advocacy Committee. As a Project Support Specialist at SUNY Oswego, Barbara works in conjunction with OBEWL at NYSED. Barbara served as NYSAFLT’s Assistant Director and LECNY’s Webmaster, Past President, President and Vice-President. She is the recipient of NYSAFLT’s President Award and received the Anthony J. Papalia Award with her Advocacy co-chair Marie Campanaro.

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Out of the Box Writing Activities that Motivate

Presenter: Diego Ojeda

In this Virtual Workshop, we’ll showcase innovative writing activities that spark student creativity and motivation. Learn unique techniques that go beyond standard writing exercises, making writing fun and impactful. You’ll gain practical ideas to encourage more enthusiastic and productive writers in your classroom. Transform writing practice into something your students will look forward to!

Diego Ojeda is a passionate Spanish teacher, a comprehensible poetry author, a blogger and an accomplished world language teacher trainer and presenter. He has been recognized and awarded for his outstanding teaching style that he brings to the class and enjoys sharing with his colleagues. Diego is a native of Bogotá, Colombia, and has many years of experience teaching in his native country as well as in the United States.

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Student Travel with Purpose

Presenter: Mandy Black

A panel of teachers that have experience traveling abroad with students will share their experiences. They will discuss anything from the logistics needed to make their travel programs happen to the learning experiences that they have curated to get the most out of student travel. Time will be given at the end for participants to share their experiences and to ask questions of the panel.

Mandy Black has been teaching students Spanish and English as a New Language since 1998. She has taught at all grade levels and in multiple districts in New York and North Carolina. Mandy has led trips to Costa Rica and Mexico since the early 2000s. She has worked with science teachers in her district to create a year-long class to prepare students for their trips. As a part of the class, students earn college credit and complete Project Based Learning experiences that they share with the community upon their return from travel.

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Higher Education Meets the Revised NYS Standards

Presenter: Dr. Erin Kearney

Achieving successful and meaningful learning outcomes for world language learners requires seamless collaboration among educators across all grade levels and educational stages. However, coordinating expertise, information, and insights can often be challenging. In this panel session facilitated by Dr. Kearney, educators from K-20 contexts will share their perspectives on implementing the revised NYS World Language Learning Standards. The discussion will explore emerging needs within the field and offer strategies for fostering greater collaboration to enhance language education outcomes.

Dr. Erin Kearney is Professor and Chair of the Department of Learning and Instruction at the University at Buffalo. Drawing from her experiences teaching French for 8 years and in teacher education for 15 years, Erin is focused on supporting learners, teachers, teacher educators and researchers to enhance language learning and intercultural experiences in world language classrooms and in all multilingual classrooms and school spaces.

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Standards With Authenticity & Zest

Presenter: Swaz Piron

The shift to revised standards presents an opportunity to update curricula, though it may feel intimidating. In this workshop, the presenter will provide insights to help teachers navigate this transition, offering practical examples of strategies and activities that can be immediately applied in the classroom. The tasks presented will be suitable for any language and proficiency level, focusing on all three modes of communication. There will be a strong emphasis on using the target language and incorporating authentic resources.

Françoise “Swaz” Piron was born in Geneva, Switzerland, to a French mother and a Belgian father. She retired in 2021 after 35 years of teaching French. She served as the 2024 President of NYSAFLT and spent over 20 years contributing to the NYSED French state exams. Swaz has presented numerous workshops at local, state, and national levels. Honored as a “Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques” by the French government, she remains active in the field as a consultant for assessments, curriculum development, standards integration, and as an editor and translator of classroom readers.

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Maximizing Your Authentic Resources

Presenter: Maris Hawkins

We as teachers know that we need to use authentic resources, but unlike teacher created materials, they do not come with lesson plans attached! It can also be overwhelming finding a resource that works for your class. In this session, we will discuss what to look for in authentic resources and then we will discuss two strong lesson plans: one for an interpretive reading and one for an interpretive listening. We will also discuss how to level these lessons up or down, so you can use one resource in many levels.

Maris Hawkins holds a Masters in Teaching and a BA in Spanish and Art History from the University of Virginia. She presents frequently on proficiency based instruction and has participated in numerous podcasts including We Teach Languages. Her co-authored book, Common Ground: Second Language Acquisition Theory goes to the classroom, aims to help educators visualize how to put principles into action. She has taught all grade levels and currently teaches elementary and middle school Spanish at Capitol Hill Day School in Washington, DC.

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One-Way Dual Language Immersion: Nuts and Bolts for Implementation or Expansion

Presenter: Francesco Fratto & Katherine Kirschner

Join our presenters to learn how they articulated the Herricks Public Schools’ dual immersion one-way program; the steps they took to implement the program and ways to anticipate the many bumps in the road. Explore the goals of the program, how they are measured, and entry requirements.  Learn the logistics: finding qualified teachers, retaining students, balancing L1 and L2 literacy development, and ensuring content knowledge. Advocacy is key, but how do you do it? 

Francesco L. Fratto was a Spanish teacher with over thirteen years of teaching experience. He holds degrees from SUNY New Paltz, Boston College, and Adelphi University. He currently serves as the K-12 Director of World Languages, Spanish Dual Language Immersion (DLI), and English as a New Language for the Herricks Public Schools, New Hyde Park, NY. Mr. Fratto has overseen the expansion of the DLI program from the elementary level to the secondary. The immersion program is currently the only fully articulated K-12 DLI program in a NYS public school. Over the years, Mr. Fratto has been very active in the profession. He served ACTFL, NECTFL, NYSAFLT and NYSAWLA in various capacities. 

Katherine Kirschner has been teaching Spanish at the Herricks School District on Long Island for over 18 years. She has been teaching one-way Spanish dual language immersion to 7th, 8th, and 9th graders since 2017. Katherine led the curriculum writing and articulation for transitioning the program’s pioneer cohort to the secondary level. She has presented at the 8th International Conference on Immersion and Dual Language Immersion in Salt Lake City, UT and at the La Cosecha Conference based in Santa Fe, NM. Katherine deeply values high-quality professional development and opportunities to exchange ideas with other DLI teachers and experts.

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Leveraging Generative AI for Interpersonal Communication and Competency

Presenter: Dr. Kevin Gaugler

This workshop explores how Generative AI can support interpersonal communication and intercultural competency in the world language classroom. Participants will learn how AI tools can stimulate conversation, provide feedback, and create culturally relevant activities to enhance language learners’ critical thinking and communicative skills. Through demos and practical activities, educators will consider strategies to integrate AI into classroom instruction.

Dr. Kevin Gaugler is a Professor of Spanish and Assistant Dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Marist University in Poughkeepsie, NY. He is a former recipient of the ACTFL Award for Excellence in Teaching with Technology. He is the author of the technology chapter in the latest edition of the “Teacher’s Handbook: Contextualized Language Instruction”. Dr. Gaugler currently he serves as co-chair of the MLA’s task force on world languages and AI and co-chair of Marist College’s steering committee on AI.

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