Finalists for 2026 ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year Announced

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ACTFL is pleased to introduce the five Regional Language Teachers of the Year who are finalists for the 2026 ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year. The award will be announced at the Opening General Session of the 2025 ACTFL Convention and World Languages Expo in New Orleans on Friday, November 21, 2025. The Language Teacher of the Year is funded by generous gifts to the Language Connects Foundation (LCF).

The finalists representing the five geographic regions of the U.S. are:

• Rachel Benson: Pleasant Lea Middle School and Summit Lakes Middle School, Lee's Summit, MO — Central States Languages For All (Central States)
• Nathan Campbell: Manheim Central High School, Manheim, PA — Northeastern Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (NECTFL)
• Dan Call: Franklin Pierce High School, Tacoma, WA — Pacific Northwest Council for Languages (PNCFL)
• Stephanie Bellot-Donaldson: Hawthorne Elementary School, Louisville, KY — Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT)
• Ngan-Ha Ta: 'Iolani School, Honolulu, HI — Southwest Conference on Language Teaching (SWCOLT)

The award for the ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year program 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 Language Teacher of the Year becomes a national spokesperson for the language profession to demonstrate further the critical importance of learning languages and cultures to the general public.

More information about the ACTFL Teacher of the Year Program.

About ACTFL:
Providing vision, leadership and support for quality teaching and learning of languages, ACTFL is an individual membership organization of 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.

SOURCE ACTFL