Upper Saddle River, NJ – January 30, 2008 —A Wyoming educator has been honored for her initiatives in foreign language fluency to prepare the state’s students for the global marketplace. Ann Tollefson, recently retired foreign language content specialist for the Wyoming Department of Education, has received the 2007 Supervisor of the Year award from the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSFL). Co-sponsored by education publisher Pearson, the award was given at NCSSFL’s 2007 annual meeting in San Antonio, TX.

Throughout her 43 years in education, Tollefson worked to ensure that every student in Wyoming had equal access to foreign language instruction. “If you can get children to start learning a language at an early age, it increases creativity and academic performance,” Tollefson stated. “We need to communicate that learning a second language in the elementary grades will help students develop better academic and thinking skills, especially in reading and general literacy.”

Tollefson began her career as a classroom teacher in the Goshen County (WY) School District. She later served as a French teacher, district supervisor for foreign languages and as Executive Director of School-Community Relations and Resource Development in the Natrona County School District in Casper. After leaving the district, Tollefson started a consulting firm and worked as the foreign language content specialist for the Wyoming Department of Education before retiring in November 2007.

Her career efforts include finding funding for and developing Japanese and Russian programs to be offered statewide on the Wyoming Equality Network (WEN), a fully interactive video network that links every secondary and post-secondary school in the state and provides free live videoconferencing classes. Spanish, French, German and Russian are currently offered on the WEN, and an initiative is underway to add Mandarin. She also made it possible through grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and from the Fulbright-Hayes Groups Study Abroad program for Wyoming teachers to study other areas of the world: the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Russia and the Pacific Rim.

“Ms. Tollefson truly deserves recognition for her outstanding leadership, service and innovative contributions at both the state and national level,” said Don Reutershan, World Language Specialist, Maine Department of Education, and Chair of the NCSSFL Award Committee. “She has risen to the challenge of encouraging schools and districts to develop or expand world language programs as part of their core curriculum, and we applaud her efforts.”

“We are delighted to be instrumental in recognizing Ann Tollefson’s achievements,” said Cathy Wilson, Humanities Marketing Director, Pearson Curriculum. “The U.S. Department of State, the National Governors Association and business policy groups like the Committee for Economic Development have all called for improved education on foreign languages and cultures, and Ms. Tollefson has played a vital part in placing her state at the forefront of that movement.”

Besides the NCSSFL award, Tollefson won the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) 2002 Florence Steiner Award for Leadership in Foreign Language Education K-12. She has also served as president of ACTFL, the Pacific Northwest Council on Foreign Languages, and the Wyoming Foreign Language Teachers' Association. She currently works as a consultant on K-12 foreign language education.

About the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSFL)

NCSSFL is an organization of education agency personnel from all states of the United States who have the responsibility of foreign/world language education at the state level. The membership of the NCSSFL envisions a nation in which all individuals will be prepared for the demands of an interdependent world by attaining competence in more than one language and culture.

About Pearson

Pearson is the global leader in educational publishing, assessment and services. For students preK-12, Pearson provides effective and innovative print and digital curriculum products, educational assessment and measurement for students and teachers, student information systems, and teacher professional development and certification programs. Through our comprehensive offerings, we bring targeted instruction and intervention, informed by test results, to every student. Pearson's other primary businesses include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.

Contact:
Rod Granger
Pearson
212-641-6114
rod.granger@pearson.com