Two educators were recently honored with awards related to their contributions to Rio’s Spanish Certificate Program. Misty Napier, Director of Rio’s McArthur Center, received the “Outstanding Educator in Support of World Languages” award. While Gildy Smith, Spanish Teacher, was honored with the “Leona Glen Outstanding World Language Educator of 2024” award.

These awards come after the McArthur Center was recognized by the Ohio Department of Education as a model for Spanish teaching education in the state last fall.

“The advanced courses we've designed have empowered my students at Vinton County High School to attain bilingual proficiency, earning accolades such as the Seal of Biliteracy and the Rio Spanish certificate,” said Smith, who teaches Spanish at both Vinton County High School and in Rio’s College Credit Plus program.

Both Napier and Smith played pivotal roles in the development of the innovative curriculum path that allows students to meet the certification requirements seamlessly in the 31-hour program.

These recognitions are a result of the outstanding success of the Spanish Certificate program at Rio, which the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Foreign Language Association have used as a model for foreign language programming in the state's public schools.