On Monday, July 22nd, at the California World Languages Project (CWLP) and California Language Teaching Association (CLTA) Summer Seminar, the CLTA president, Alice Miano, along with the CLTA past president, Nancy Pérez, announced that Dr. Cécile Nédellec is the 2025 CLTA Teacher of the Year. Dr. Nédellec currently teaches French at Patrick Henry High School and serves as a mentor and instructor for the SDUSD induction program via UCSD Extended Studies. Additionally, Dr. Nedellec is the Southern Area International Languages Network (SAILN) coordinator. In 2024, Dr. Nédellec earned the CLTA Outstanding Award.
Dr. Nédellec’s passion for supporting and mentoring teachers led her to earn a PhD in curriculum and instruction, with her doctoral dissertation titled “Teachers’ Understanding of Differentiated Instruction in Swiss Elementary Schools.” She is a former National Board-Certified French Teacher (2009-2019) and a CWLP fellow (2009). Dr. Nédellec is deeply honored to have been selected as the 2025 CLTA Teacher of the Year. She extends her heartfelt gratitude to those who believed in her and chose her to represent the state at the Southwest Conference on Language Teaching in January. This recognition strengthens her commitment to advocating for the importance of learning other languages, supporting world language teachers, sharing her best practices, and encouraging more students to embrace foreign language classes in school. She thanks everyone for this incredible opportunity.
Each year the Awards Committee chooses a truly extraordinary world language and culture educator who will participate in the Teacher of the Year program. The CLTA TOY first competes at the regional level at the Southwest Conference on Language Teaching (SWCOLT) which is held annually in one of the member states. The winner of the Regional Level goes on to the American Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) level, held at the annual ACTFL Convention & Expo at one of the member states. CLTA TOYs are self nominated from former and current Outstanding Teachers and Teacher Leaders, and others who demonstrate the qualities most likely to be recognized at the Regional and National levels. The winner must submit a professional portfolio, including video, and participate in a rigorous interview process on both levels.
2025 TOY applications are now closed. The 2026 application will be posted after March 2025.