A Washoe County School District (WCSD) assistant principal has won a national award that recognizes professionals who promote world languages in education and learning.
Vaughn Middle School’s Ryan Smith received the Southwest Conference on Language Teaching’s “Friend of the Profession” award at a recent regional conference.
“Language teachers and students are some of my very favorite people in the entire world,” said Smith, who has worked for WCSD for 21 years. “This award is a huge honor and I could not have done this work without the support of my colleagues in the Washoe County School District.”
Throughout his time at WCSD, Smith has been active in the language education and learning field. He was co-chair for the revision of the Nevada Academic Content Requirements for world languages and advocated for the Seal of Biliteracy program statewide after it was passed into law. He is also a co-author of an Advanced Positioning Spanish textbook.
“All students should be given the opportunity to learn a new language or become proficient in their home language,” Smith added. “I will forever be a lifelong advocate for world language programs in our schools.”
Source: WCSD
