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ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ACTFL is thrilled to introduce Kei Tsukamaki as the 2025 National Language Teacher of the Year. The award presentation was held during the Opening General Session of the 2024 ACTFL Convention & World Languages Expo on Friday, November 22 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA. The Language Teacher of the Year is a program managed by the Language Connects Foundation (LCF), the charitable and public education affiliate of ACTFL.

Kei Tsukamaki is in her 13th year teaching Japanese in Washington State. She has served as President of the Washington Association of Teachers of Japanese and currently serves as Department Chair in her building and is a member of her district's Japanese Curriculum Writing Team. Tsukamaki is the 2024 Pacific Northwest Council for Languages (PNCFL) Teacher of the Year and the 2023 Washington Association for Language Teaching (WAFLT) Teacher of the Year.

The award for the ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year elevates the status of the language teaching profession at the state, regional, and national levels by creating opportunities for recognizing the most accomplished members of the profession. The Teacher of the Year becomes a national spokesperson for the language profession to further demonstrate the critical importance of learning languages and cultures to the general public.

"We congratulate Kei on being named 2025 ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year," said Lawrence Paska, ACTFL Executive Director. "Her professional accomplishments are a testament to hard work, passion, and dedication to the field of language education. I look forward to our continued collaboration during Kei's year of service and advocacy to the profession as ACTFL's National Language Teacher of the Year.

Learn more about the ACTFL Teacher of the Year Program.

The other four finalists for the annual ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year Award representing the other geographic regions of the U.S. were:

• Amanda Beck: William Henry Harrison High School, West Lafayette, IN — Central States Languages for All
  
  
• Bertha Delgadillo: Woodville Tompkins Technical & Career High School, Savannah, GA — Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT)
  
  
• Sara Lee: Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ — Southwest Conference on Language Teaching (SWCOLT)
  
  
• Carlos Salinas: William Penn Charter School, Philadelphia, PA — Northeastern Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (NECTFL)

About ACTFL:

Providing vision, leadership and support for quality teaching and learning of languages, ACTFL is an individual membership organization of more than 13,000 language educators and administrators from elementary through graduate education, as well as government and industry. Since its founding in 1967, ACTFL has become synonymous with innovation, quality, and reliability in meeting the changing needs of language educators and their learners. It is where the world's educators, businesses, and government agencies go to advance the practice of language learning.

ACTFL's work as a trusted, independent center of excellence empowers educators to prepare learners for success in a 21^st century global society; helps government agencies build language capacity in the U.S. and abroad; and connects businesses with the resources and relationships they need to succeed.

About LCF:

The Language Connects Foundation (LCF) is a national not-for-profit and philanthropic organization created in partnership with parent organization, ACTFL, to uplift language educators and champion language education. As a standalone entity, the LCF's ultimate goal is to help ensure a diverse, well-prepared, and highly effective language educator workforce today and for generations to come.

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SOURCE ACTFL