Due to an oversight at the 2020 Annual meeting, we are here honoring LAST YEAR’s recipient of the Matthew I. Wiencke Teaching Award at this gathering, and the winner was Kate Horsley of Hopkins School in New Haven, Connecticut.

Kate has been teaching at Hopkins for 24 years, serving as department chair for 11 of those years. Jessica Hildahl, Latin teacher at Guilford High School and friend and colleague of Kate, praised her not only for her commitment to making the study of Latin more compassionate and inclusive for her students but also for her dedication to improving her own and her department’s pedagogical practice. As department chair, Kate took it upon herself to improve the student experience for language learners at her school by taking a sabbatical to research best practices for teaching Latin. She traveled all around New England visiting other teachers’ classrooms and learning everything she could. She then wrote an all new introductory Latin curriculum for her middle school students, while continuing to support her colleagues in their own processes of self-reflection and transformation. She also has served for many years as the faculty advisor to the GSA, helping students find their place and feel safe and supported in their school.

Kate’s many years of excellence in teaching and leadership and her generous collegiality make her a worthy recipient of this esteemed award.

We will honor THIS YEAR’s winner of the Matthew I. Wiencke Teaching Award at the closing ceremony, next Saturday.