The AATJ Teacher Awards recognize outstanding teachers who demonstrate excellence in teaching, advocacy, and leadership in Japanese education both locally and regionally. AATJ customarily presents the awards to the recipients during the ACTFL Annual Convention each November. Awards are given annually in two categories: K-12 Level Teacher Award & Community College/College and University Level Teacher Award.
2023 AATJ Outstanding Teacher Award (K-12 category)
Marisa Utida Bellini (American Fork High School, UT)
2023 AATJ Outstanding Teacher Award (Post-secondary category)
Dr. Makiko Fukuda (University of Texas)
Nomination Process
The nominator completes a Nomination Form, assembles the required supporting documents, and submits all documents electronically to aatj@aatj.org. Please note: The nomination form may download itself to your computer rather than popping open on your screen.
NEXT NOMINATION DEADLINE:
June 30, 2024.
NOMINATION MUST INCLUDE:
1. A completed Nomination Form;
2. The candidate’s CV (not to exceed 3 pages), which includes professional development activities and leadership efforts;
3. The nominator’s letter and two additional letters of recommendation, signed and scanned.
Eligibility
Candidates:
- must have a minimum of three years’ teaching experience at the level for which they are nominated, and
- must hold a current membership in AATJ.
Nominators:
- may be anyone familiar with the nominee’s teaching (e.g., a colleague, administrator, parent, or student), and
- Nominators who are teachers of Japanese (language, literature, culture etc.) must be current members of AATJ.
No current AATJ board member is eligible to receive one of these awards.
Selection Process
A selection committee of 3-5 members, which may include AATJ Board members, examines the dossiers submitted and chooses the recipients. Finalists may be contacted for a telephone interview.
- The committee is interested in knowing the particular way in which a candidate demonstrated his or her abilities to best enhance the quality of teaching in large or small classes and/or as a guide for students in their independent projects.
- The committee is concerned with the candidate’s rigor as a teacher and wants to know that the candidate has been doing not simply a good job but a distinguished one and his or her dedication and contributions to the students, to the school, or to the college and university has been an inspiration to students and colleagues.
- The committee also wishes to know if the candidate has been instrumental and has shown leadership in the promotion of the study of Japanese (language, literature, culture, etc.) by keeping current with developments in the field beyond her(his) classroom such as:
K-12 Level: beyond his/her own program (e.g. entire school, community, and regional level)
College and University Level: beyond his/her own institution (e.g. community, state, national level)
Past AATJ Award Recipients
2022 Teacher Award Recipients
2021 Teacher Award Recipients
2020 Teacher Award Recipients
2019 Teacher Award Recipients
2018 Teacher Award Recipients
2017 Teacher Award Recipients
2016 Teacher Award Recipients
2015 Teacher Award Recipients
2014 Teacher Award Recipients
2013 Teacher Award Recipients
2012 Teacher Award Recipients
Announcement of the Recipients
Recipients are notified in September of each year.
An official letter from AATJ will be sent to the recipient’s Principal or Department Chair, and to the regional AATJ affiliate to which the recipient belongs. The announcement is made in the AATJ Newsletter and on the AATJ Website and Facebook page. The winners are recognized at the ACTFL Annual Conference and Language Exposition.
