–by Svetla Tomanova
Julia Inglesby, a first grade teacher at Alanton Elementary in the Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program, won the Best of Foreign Language Association of Virginia (FLAVA) award for her outstanding presentation at the FLAVA conference last month. FLAVA advocates for world language education and promotes online opportunities to educate the public about the benefits and issues related to language learning.
“We are thrilled that Srta. Julia Inglesby is being recognized by FLAVA for her extraordinary work as a dual language educator,” said Principal Charlene Garran. (“Srta.” is the abbreviation for senorita in Spanish.) “Inglesby has a natural talent to teach Spanish and is always ready to support other fellow DLI educators.”
An alumna of Princess Anne’s IB program, Inglesby learned Spanish in the classrooms of our schools and she is so excited that she “gets to help pass along that gift to other students.”
Inglesby quickly found her passion for the profession, love for teaching in Spanish, and the power of dual languages. Today, she teaches math and science in Spanish and knows that every minute counts in the classroom and that multipurpose instructional routines can be instrumental in maximizing student learning.
“Her enthusiasm captures students’ attention as she engages them in a variety of learning activities that spark their curiosity and love for learning in another language,” added Garran.
Inglesby was invited to present at FLAVA’s fall conference after her presentation proposal, which she submitted last spring, was approved. Her presentation, “Number Talks in a Dual Language Setting,” won her an award based on feedback from peer attendees.
“Number talks are a great way to help your child grasp mathematics in both languages,” Inglesby said.
FLAVA granted Inglesby a $1,000 scholarship to attend the Northeast Conference of Teaching Foreign Language (NECTFL) in New York City in
March 2023. Ahead of NECTFL, Inglesby said, she will be reviewing the presentation and making changes based on the recent feedback she received from fellow attendees at the fall conference.
“I use the instructional routine that forms the basis of my presentation daily in my classroom, so I will continue to update the presentation based on my experiences with my students,” she added.
The division’s DLI program is implemented across five elementary and two middle schools. Approximately 600 students are enrolled in the elementary grades and roughly 160 students in the middle school grades. During the school year 2021, Bayside Elementary and Cooke Elementary began implementing the DLI program in grades K-1. An additional grade level will be added each year until the program is fully implemented in grades K-5 with plans to expand to the middle schools in each feeder pattern, said Kelly Arble, K-12 world languages coordinator.
After the conference, Inglesby hopes to bring back to her school and DLI program lessons learned and resources she gained from the presentations and share her experience with fellow teachers and students.
“I love our DLI program and I am committed to being a part of its success,” added Inglesby.
To learn more about the DLI program, visit this page.
Way to go Julia very impressive. Congratulations but I can’t say that I am surprised at your accomplishment. You are a very special dedicated educator. Wishing you all the best in all your future endeavors. Love Mrs. C see you in May.
Congratulations Julia! Tribe pride, and VBCPS-pride!!