The Foreign Language Association of Georgia (FLAG) has awarded Dr. Jon Valentine, director of World Language and Dual Language Immersion Programs, with this year’s FLAG Administrative Support Award. The award recognizes a Georgia dean, superintendent, principal, or other administrator who has evidenced strong and overt support for world languages. This year’s recipient oversees World Languages program development and support in ten distinct languages and leads development and support for the district’s ten elementary Dual Language Immersion (DLI) programs in Spanish, French, and Korean.   

Prior to his tenure with Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS), Dr. Valentine served as Program Manager for Languages and Global Initiatives at the Georgia Department of Education where he spearheaded the Georgia Workforce Development Initiative, a multi-agency, K-12, and higher education partnership linking partners in business and industry with World Languages classrooms in Georgia and abroad. His commitment to providing equitable access to high-quality World Languages instruction and DLI programs is unwavering. “Language learning changed my life, and I’m so grateful to work for a school system that values home language and new language learning for all students,” he says, when asked about what drives his passion.

FLAG is the official professional organization for World Languages in Georgia and serves as the primary statewide association of instructors, administrators, and others involved in teaching World Languages and the promotion of cultural understanding. It is motivated by the desire to facilitate communication among Georgia's language professionals, to provide educational services to its members, to conduct meetings, and to develop and disseminate information related to the field of World Language education. The basic goal of FLAG is to improve and foster the teaching of World Languages and cultures through service to the teachers in the state.