Jacque Bott Van Houten2008 State Supervisor of the Year
Jacque Bott Van Houten, World Language and International Education Consultant at the Kentucky Department of Education, was recognized in November 2008 as the State Supervisor of the Year. Dr. Van Houten received the award from Pearson/Prentice Hall and the National Council of State Supervisors For Languages (NCSSFL) at the annual meetings of NCSSFL and the National Association of District Supervisors of Foreign Languages (NADSFL) in Orlando, Florida.
Throughout her career she has been a consummate professional. Capping a distinguished career as a classroom teacher at both secondary and post-secondary levels, Dr. Van Houten has provided outstanding leadership to her state and to the profession as a state supervisor. She initiated the first memorandum of understanding (MOU) between a state and an academic region of France, as well as NCSSFL’s Chinese Guest Teacher MOU with The College Board. She served a two-year term as NCSSFL President in 2006-2007, working tirelessly in publications, presentations, workshops and within the organization to represent and help advance the organization nationally and internationally. Her leadership in the development and piloting of LinguaFolio will long be remembered in the profession.
She has promoted and advanced the quality and importance of world-language education through numerous presentations, workshops and published articles. Dr. Van Houten was honored by the French government with the Ordre des Palmes Academiques. During her tenure at the Department of Education her state received the Goldman-Sachs States Award for International Education.
As one of the Kentucky teachers who nominated her for the NCSSFL State Supervisor of the Year award wrote: “I honestly don’t know how she does everything she does. That she does it all with unflagging enthusiasm and thoughtful professionalism is even more astounding.”