We are thrilled to report that Nora MacDonald, longtime Latin teacher at Roosevelt High School and one of this Department's most admired and beloved alums (she earned her UW BA in Latin Cum Laude in 1971 and her MA in Latin in 1986), has been awarded the 2012 Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Pre-Collegiate Level sponsored by the American Philological Association and the American Classical League. As many of our readers will know, Nora is something of an icon among Latin teachers in the Pacific Northwest. She has passionately and expertly taught Latin to several generations of students in a career that spans nearly 40 years, 35 of them at Roosevelt. Her students, colleagues, and friends who contributed to the nomination process uniformly praised Nora's skill and devotion.
We encourage you to read further about Nora's remarkable career and the award in an splendid article published in the Seattle Times on 12/30/12.
The award citation itself may be read on the American Philological Association's website here.
Nora's achievement was also acknowledged in the January 25, 2013 edition of School Beat, the electronic newsletter of the Seattle Public Schools.
The award was presented to Nora at a ceremony held during the Plenary Session of the annual meeting of the American Philological Association on January 5, 2013 in the Seattle Sheraton (an historic occasion: this was the first time the APA has held its annual meeting here in Seattle). Her family and many former students and friends were on hand for the occasion.
The American Philological Association, founded in 1869, is the national professional organization of those who teach Latin, Greek and Classical Civilization at the college level; the American Classical League, founded in 1919, is devoted to fostering the study of classical languages in the United States and Canada.