New Haven educator named Northeast Language Teacher of the Year

NEW HAVEN, CT — New Haven Spanish teacher Trudy Anderson has been named Teacher of the Year by the Northeastern Conference on Foreign Language Education, and in November she will enter a national competition.

Anderson has taught in New Haven public schools for 30 years. Currently, she teaches sixth through eighth grade at Nathan Hale School — where she has spent most of her career, the school district said in a news release.

She represented the Connecticut Council of Language Teachers in the Northeast competition, and in November she will represent Northeast in the National Language Teacher of the Year competition.

New Haven Public Schools officials said Anderson is known for creating small-group stations that facilitate independent learning, and they said she teaches her students to be curious about people and cultures outside. of theirs.

In a statement, Anderson said her students’ lives had become “much more multicultural”.

“Like, they play video games with kids all over the world, and they think that’s a normal thing,” Anderson said. “One day after we had just learned how to give directions in Spanish, a student came in and told me that he had played Fortnite and that a kid somewhere else in the world had yelled at him in Spanish ‘Go Left! Go left!’ He was like, ‘I knew what he was talking about!'”

“I said, ‘At least I taught you something that you used in your real life! ‘” Anderson said.

Anderson is a graduate of the University of Connecticut and holds graduate degrees from the University of Bridgeport and Southern Connecticut State University.

Department supervisor Jessica Haxhi called her an “indispensable member” of the New Haven Public Schools World Language Department.

“Trudy is a role model teacher, engaging students in exciting lessons that build their real-world skills,” Haxhi said. “She graciously shares her time and expertise with her colleagues through mentoring, presenting and creating resources.”