Congratulations to Rodney Taylor, Middle School recipient of AATF’s Dorothy S. Ludwig Excellence in Teaching Award, 2009. Monsieur Taylor says that he is glad to be able to serve his community and help expand the global and cultural perspectives of students. He credits a “phenomenal group of students and supportive parents and colleagues.”

He has taught for about 15 years, in Lower Merion School District and Cherry Hill public schools. Previously, he spent four years teaching French to socio-economically disadvantaged students in the Mississippi Teacher Corps. Currently, he serves on the Montgomery County Association of Teachers of Foreign Language executive board.

“I hope that this great honor is an encouragement to my fellow world language teachers and also to African-American educators everywhere,” Taylor said.

Taylor created a French cinema club at the school and restored their annual language immersion trip to Quebec. Recently, Bala Cynwyd’s students scored the highest public school scores to date on the national French exam.