ACTFL Announces Election of Three New Board Members

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) is pleased to announce three newly elected members of its Board of Directors. Jessica Haxhi of New Haven Public Schools, Ying Jin of Fremont Union High School District, and L.J. Randolph Jr. of the University of North Carolina Wilmington will each begin their terms on January 1, 2020.

PRESIDENT-ELECT
Jessica Haxhi – After more than 20 years as a language educator, Jessica Haxhi now serves as Supervisor of World Languages for New Haven Public Schools in New Haven, CT, where she's been since 2013. There, she focuses on standards-based curriculum development, teacher collaboration within and across languages, and professional learning around engaging, proficiency-based instruction. Most recently, Haxhi worked with CTCOLT to advocate for Seal of Biliteracy legislation and served on the NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements Revision Committee. She is currently on ACTFL's Professional Learning Committee.

Haxhi will serve as ACTFL President in 2021.

AT-LARGE (K-12)
Ying Jin –Ying Jin has more than 20 years of Chinese language and culture teaching experience in diverse communities and settings, including middle schools, high schools, and colleges in both the United States and China.  She currently teaches Mandarin Chinese in the Fremont Union High School District in Cupertino, California. Jin is a nationally recognized language educator and was named the 2018 ACTFL Teacher of the Year.  She has also been awarded the 2017 Teacher of the Year from SWCOLT (The Southwest Conference on Language Teaching), 2016 Teacher of the Year from CLTA (California Language Teachers Association), 2015 Outstanding Teacher Award from CLTA (California Language Teachers Association) and 50th Annual Murphy Educator of the Year Award in 2014.  

AT-LARGE (HIGHER EDUCATION)
L.J. Randolph Jr. – L.J. Randolph Jr. is an associate professor of Spanish and Education at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. He is also the associate chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures and coordinator of the Foreign Language Teacher Education Program.  Randolph's research and publications have focused on a variety of critical issues in language education, including the teaching of Spanish to heritage and native speakers and the incorporation of social justice-oriented pedagogies in the language classroom.  He has a decade of experience teaching Spanish and ESOL at the secondary level. At the university level, he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Spanish language, contemporary Latina/o/x cultures, and second language teaching methods.

"I am very excited to welcome Jessica Haxhi, Ying Jin, and L.J. Randolph to the ACTFL Board of Directors," said Howie Berman, ACTFL Executive Director. "Their unique backgrounds, experience, and skill sets will be huge assets to ACTFL and the language education profession. I look forward to working with them in the coming years as we seek to ensure language access for all students in the U.S."

Those Board Members whose terms conclude at the end of 2020 are Aleidine Moeller (Past President), University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Michael Bacon (Treasurer), Portland Public Schools, Susan Hildebrandt, Illinois State University, Jill Woerner, AFS-USA, and Sandra Garcia, Pacific University.

"It has been an honor and pleasure to work with these board members who have given generously of their time and talents," added Lisa Ritter, ACTFL President. "We will miss them, but I know they'll continue to make contributions to the profession after their service on the ACTFL Board has ended."

SOURCE American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages

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