President’s Message

A message from 2023 NYSAFLT President Marissa Coulehan

Hello NYSA-friends and colleagues,

We have made it through another school year! Congratulations! I find this is always a good time to reflect back on the year, consider successes and challenges, and think about how to tweak things going forward. 

**June challenge: what do all of these things have in common? Trudy Anderson; Expanding your PLN using social media; Brain breaks; Choose your own adventure; Catherine Ousselin; Unit design; and Meredith White.

Registration is now open for the NYSAFLT Summer Institute, July 31–August 3. This year’s theme is “Sailing with Ease into the Revised Standards” as our Checkpoint A seventh grade and FLES colleagues prepare to implement the revised standards in their programs. First VP Alexis Thornton has masterfully scheduled four days packed with several sessions relevant to any NYS world language teacher. As always, there is a FLES strand specifically for early language teachers. There is much excitement throughout the state as the revised standards are being rolled out; I am truly impressed with the level of engagement of many of the teachers that I have talked to who are ready to update their curricula. What an exciting time to be a world language teacher! Thank you to our Dream Team for tirelessly working to prepare us for the implementation of the revised standards. 

If you’re looking for an in-person conference, look no further than the 106th Annual Conference at the historical downtown Syracuse Marriott Hotel, Oct. 20-21, 2023. This year’s theme is “World Language Education: Supporting Our Students, Supporting Each Other.” President-elect Françoise “Swaz” Piron and the AC Planning Committee received over 90 session proposals! Wow! Head to the annual conference page today to register at the early bird rate and pick out a pre-conference workshop. We look forward to seeing you and your colleagues in Syracuse!

Best wishes for a restful summer!

Marissa Coulehan

**Congratulations if you knew that all of these things mentioned were presenters or excerpts of workshop titles from the NYSAFLT Summer Institute! And there are many more exciting presenters and workshops on the schedule. Be sure to register today and join us live, or watch sessions on-demand, to support your summer of world language professional development.

Beth Slocum