ACTFL announced today that Paul Sandrock, ACTFL Senior Advisor for Language Learning Initiatives, is retiring, effective July 1, 2023.
Paul has served as an invaluable member of the ACTFL staff for more than 12 years, as Director of Education and Interim Director of Professional Learning and Certification before his current role—and before that as a consultant, ACTFL Board member, and President (2006). While at ACTFL, Paul has facilitated the revision of the national World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages and the NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements, and before that was a member of the original Integrated Performance Assessment development team. He has played pivotal roles in the development of the updated Guidelines for Implementing the Seal of Biliteracy. Paul also committed his time and talents to successful programs like the Leadership Institute for Language Learning (LILL) and the ACTFL STARTALK Multistate Pathways to Teaching Program.
“Paul Sandrock has left an indelible mark on ACTFL and the entire language education community, thanks to his wisdom, experience, service, leadership, and most of all, kindness,” said Howie Berman, ACTFL Executive Director. “It’s been an honor and pleasure to serve alongside him and I wish him good health and happiness in his retirement.”
Paul taught Spanish for 16 years in middle school and high school and was the author of ACTFL’s The Keys to Assessing Language Performance, as well as Planning Curriculum for Learning World Languages. He is also a recipient of ACTFL’s Florence Steiner Award for Leadership in Foreign Language Education, K-12.
“Thank you to ACTFL for the opportunity of a lifetime to be part of many impactful projects and to serve alongside such a dedicated staff. I am so grateful to all the educators with whom I have collaborated, from whom I learned so much, and for whose work I have such tremendous respect”, said Paul Sandrock. “I appreciate every mentor who guided me on this journey and encourage all of us to support our colleagues as they develop their leadership across ever-widening circles.”
Through the facilitation of countless professional development workshops, webinars, coaching sessions, and presentations, Paul has positively impacted the lives of thousands of language educators and learners throughout his illustrious career. We are forever grateful for his service.