North County High School German teacher Katrina Griffin soared to new heights today when she was named the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) National Language Teacher of the Year.
The award, which followed state and regional awards from the ACTFL as well as the Anne Arundel County Public Schools Teacher of the Year, was announced at the ACTFL’s convention in Boston.
“There are not enough words in any language to express how humbled and honored I am to receive this award,” said Griffin, who has taught at North County for 15 years. “I am blessed to have such wonderful students and to work with such amazing and supportive colleagues in Anne Arundel County. I represent the many students who think that they will never learn a language or have a use for a language, because that is what I thought all throughout high school and college. We teachers need to hold that vision and possibility for our students because whether our students become mechanics, doctors, or linguists, they will need to know how to communicate, problem solve, think critically, and collaborate with one another.”
Griffin, who chairs the World and Classical Languages Department at North County, was also a finalist for Maryland Teacher of the Year. She was one of five finalists competing for the national award.
“ACTFL congratulates Katrina Griffin and Anne Arundel County Public Schools on this prestigious accomplishment,” ACTFL President Pete Swanson said. “I know that Katrina will represent the language field well in 2017 as she advocates for language programs throughout the country.”