vif
 Buenos
Aires Teacher Honored in USA for Excellence in
Educating U.S. Students about Culture of Argentina
Virginia Beach, Virginia,
USA – Rosana de
Luca, an international-exchange teacher from Buenos Aires,
Argentina, has been named
Cultural Educator of the Year in the U.S. state of Virginia for excellence
in educating students in the United States about the culture of Argentina.
The honor is from the
Visiting International Faculty Program, the
United States’ largest
international-exchange program sponsoring teachers from Argentina and around
the world to teach in U.S. schools. The VIF Program provides teachers
professional-development experiences to advance their careers by living,
teaching and traveling in the United States for up to three years before
returning home, with comprehensive support services to help ensure a
rewarding experience.
One of 47 Argentine
VIF teachers, De Luca was chosen for the honor from among 1,700
international-exchange teachers from 52 nations teaching in nearly 1,000
U.S. schools. De Luca
is a graduate of USAL Universidad del Salvador.
“Sharing Argentine
culture has strengthened my identity and helped me value my traditions
more,” De Luca said. “Teaching in the US for almost three years has
enriched me immensely in the professional and personal arena. Training is
on-going; the opportunities for growth, endless. This experience definitely
shapes your life in many ways, bringing a new challenge every day and
leading to success.”
Said
David B. Young, president of the VIF Program:
“Rosana De Luca is an extraordinary teacher and a world-class cultural
ambassador for Argentina. She has made an enormous contribution to the
education of her students in the United States by teaching them about the
rich culture and heritage of Argentina. Through her daily efforts in the
classroom and community, Mrs. De Luca is helping prepare a new generation of
Americans to understand the importance of global citizenship and cooperation
among the nations of the world.”
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Rosana de Luca
Rosana de Luca teaches
the Spanish language at Kempsville
High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia. An
experienced international educator in her third term with VIF, De Luca
encourages her Spanish II students to immerse themselves in the culture of
Argentina and other Spanish-speaking nations. She leads games that
encourage conversations in Spanish, shares photos and videos of her home in
Argentina and decorates the classroom with flags and posters from the
Spanish-speaking world. She even plays music from Latin America in her
classroom.
De Luca’s students
have learned much about the geography, climate, sports and customs of
Argentina. For one lesson, students learned vocabulary words about going on
vacation, and they researched vacation spots in Argentina and other
countries on Web sites written in Spanish. Then they designed and produced
travel brochures written in Spanish.
De Luca has injected
herself into many aspects of the school community. She co-organizes the
Spanish Club, serves as a chaperone at the school prom and teaches a Spanish
class for adults on nights and weekends. She and her husband share
Argentinean holiday traditions and meals with colleagues, and De Luca has
taught teachers the tango. This upbeat, energetic educator also makes time
to pursue a graduate degree in administration through the VIF Master’s
Degree Program at Virginia Commonwealth University in
Richmond, Virginia.
“It is a pleasure to
have Mrs. De Luca at Kempsville,” said Assistant Principal Carey Manugo.
“She brings a vast array of effective teaching activities, excellent
content knowledge and contagious enthusiasm to her Spanish classes.”
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ABOUT THE VIF PROGRAM
The Visiting
International Faculty Program is the largest international-exchange program
for U.S. schools and teachers worldwide. Our mission: To transform lives
through international exchange.
Founded in 1987, the
VIF Program is a private organization based in
North Carolina in the United States. VIF is
designated as an official sponsor in the U.S. State Department’s Exchange
Visitor Program, authorized to sponsor qualified teachers from around the
world in U.S. schools for up to three years with the U.S. government’s
cultural-exchange (J-1) visa. Since its founding 20 years ago, the VIF
Program has sponsored more than 8,000 teachers from over 50 nations in more
than 1,000 U.S. schools. VIF teachers have positively influenced the lives
of more than 1 million students, educators and community members.
The VIF Program carefully selects
teachers from across the world, matches them with
U.S.
schools and provides comprehensive support to help ensure rewarding
experiences. VIF educators work as full-time classroom teachers in select
primary and secondary schools in the United States in a wide variety of
subject areas, including elementary education, international languages,
English as a Second Language, math, social studies, science, special
education and many more.
As cultural
ambassadors, VIF teachers educate U.S. students about the culture and
heritage of their home nations to help prepare a new generation to be good
global citizens and to succeed in the global economy and international
affairs.
VIF Program
participation is an unparalleled professional-development experience for
international teachers to advance their careers, including an option to earn
a master’s degree in education at respected U.S. universities at discounted
tuition. VIF teachers return to contribute their expertise in schools in
their home nations and to serve as goodwill ambassadors on behalf of the
United States. According to an
independently conducted survey, 98% of VIF alumni would recommend VIF to a
fellow teacher.
Learn more or apply at
www.vifprogram.com
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