The award honors the many accomplishments of ACTFL’s second President, Leo Benardo. Leo’s long list of contributions to the field includes serving as Director of Foreign Languages for New York City Schools from 1966 to 1987. During those 20 years, he was responsible for introducing FLES programs in the schools, constructing and evaluating New York State Regents Examinations, and establishing the City University of New York Council on Foreign Languages to develop articulation between high schools and colleges.
In addition, he used the medium of television to demonstrate methods of teaching languages, instituted the recruitment of teachers from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Spain, and collaborated with the United Nations to bring attention to the importance of language education.
This award is established in Leo Benardo’s honor to recognize significant contributions that reflect innovative instructional practice and programs by individuals who teach or supervise in urban, suburban or rural districts that teach a majority of underserved students.
We are currently seeking volunteers to serve on the Awards Committee. Committee members review the dossiers of those nominated and rate them on a provided evaluation rubric.
Requirements:
Volunteers should have a background in meeting the needs of diverse learners.
Number of hours committed varies depending on the number of nominations received, generally 2-3 hours.
Approximately 2-5 volunteer committee members are selected to serve for the awards cycle each year. They are notified in early June; work begins in late June and is completed online. Nomination materials are posted on the Awards Community for committee members to access, along with a rubric. Deadlines will be set by the committee chair and passed along to the committee.
Volunteers currently serving as Chair on another ACTFL Committee (SIG Officers, Board Committee, etc.) are not eligible to apply. Volunteers must remain an ACTFL member for the duration of their committee term.