September 26 marks the beginning of National Teach Spanish Week (NTSW). NTSW, which coincides with Hispanic American Heritage Month, was first launched by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) in 2019 as “National Teach Spanish Day.” This year, the one-day celebration has been extended to one week due to popular demand.
In an August 30 press release, the AATSP stated that purpose of NTSW is “to promote the teaching of Spanish as a profession, to call attention to the current Spanish teacher shortage nationwide, and to emphasize the importance of Spanish as a world language. We encourage teachers to discuss with their students the influence of the Spanish language and culture worldwide and the many opportunities that their knowledge of Spanish can provide them.”
To celebrate NTSW, the AATSP offers the following suggestions:
Share a classroom tip or inspirational video
- Spanish Pre-K, K-12 Spanish teachers, graduate students, college/university professors, administrators, pre-service and retired teachers have been encouraged to participate!
- Videos will be shared to celebrate National Teach Spanish Week on the AATSP website and social media.
- Videos can be played for your personal viewing pleasure or shared with students in the classroom.
Apply for Professional Development Scholarship for Annual Conference in Puerto
- Your chance to be awarded a $2,000 scholarship to the 104th AATSP Annual Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico!
- Scholarships will support reimbursable conference expenses (e.g., airfare, hotel, conference registration).
- One scholarship is designated for an educator in Higher Education and the other scholarship will be awarded to a Pre-K-12 teacher.
- Scholarship Application Deadline: Thursday, September 30, 2021 at 11:59pm (Central Time).
- Please click here to read Scholarship Application Guidelines (PDF).
Attend an AATSP Advocacy Leadership and Governmental Relations Task Force Meeting
- Martha Vásquez (AATSP Past President) and Israel F. Herrera (2018 AATSP Outstanding Teacher of the Year 4-year College) are the co-chairs of the committee.
- This meeting will introduce the goals of the task force and engage in conversation about potential advocacy strategies and future events.
- We want to hear what your chapter and state are doing for Spanish and Portuguese!
- ZOOM meeting will take place on Thursday, September 30, 2021 at 6:00pm (Eastern Time).
Join the webinar “Incorporating Afro-Latino Culture in Spanish and Portuguese classrooms
- Hosted by Kim Haas of the PBS series Afro-Latino Travels with Kim Haas, and notable AATSP Spanish teachers Haydee Taylor-Arnold and Jenniffer Saldaña Whyte.
- The webinar will take place on Wednesday, September 29, 2021 at 7:00pm (Eastern Time).
- To download a Certificate of Attendance for the webinar, click here (PDF).
- Share the webinar flyer on social media!
For more activities and ideas, visit https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.aatsp.org/resource/resmgr/nationalteachspanishweek/more_activities_and_ideas_fo.pdf.
