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Janis Kliphardt (Emery)
The American Association of Teachers of French (AATF) is the only professional association devoted exclusively to the needs of French teachers at all levels. Their mission is to advance the study of the French language and French-speaking literatures and cultures both in schools and in the general public. AATF provides professional development, resources, and materials as support to promote and defend French programs and all things French in American schools, communities, and AATF chapters across the U.S.
Every November AATF members and interested Francophones and Francophiles are encouraged to take French out of the classroom to show what students know and can do with French.
AATF members have opportunities to promote French, to recognize student achievement, and to create excitement around the study of French.
Each year, the AATF holds a convention organized around a theme. The conventions periodically take place in a French-speaking location and are celebrations of all things French and Francophone and allow members to present their own work and to attend sessions and workshops devoted to all aspects of culture, literature, pedagogy, cinema, and linguistics.
The AATF collaborates with a variety of agencies and companies to offer its members scholarships for summer professional development programs in French-speaking countries. In recent years, winners have gone to France, Belgium, Quebec, and Martinique.
Serendipity to learn on this November day while thinking about Jacqui that the present AATF President, Eileen Walvoord, is a former French teacher in Niles Township High School District 219.
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