The Dobbie Vasquez Excellence in Teaching Award
The California Classical Association – Northern Section is thrilled to announce the Dobbie Vasquez Excellence in Teaching Award in celebration of Dobbie Vasquez, a longtime teacher at Menlo School, passionate supporter of the Junior Classical League at both the state and national level, and a CCA-North board member for decades. This award will honor one exceptional Northern California middle or high school teacher per year..
A note about Dobbie Vasquez’s career and dedication to Latin teaching.
Our colleague and friend, Dobbie Vasquez, exemplifies a lifelong commitment to the study ofLatin, reflected in her own learning, in her service, and in her dedication to teaching. From herhigh school years at the Girls Latin School in Boston to pursuing her undergraduate and graduate degrees at Mt. Holyoke and Harvard, Dobbie exhibited a passion for learning and a joie de vivre that became the hallmarks of her teaching. After launching her teaching career on the east coast, she taught for the longest period at Menlo School, where she piloted and then instituted the Latin program that would become her legacy there, guiding students from middle school through post-AP Latin. She has worked tirelessly and served in leadership roles for the American Classical League, the National Junior Classical League, and the California Junior Classical League, as well as the California Classical Association (and before her move to California, she did the same in New York). A three-time winner of Menlo’s Arrillaga Teaching Award, Dobbie has always centered her teaching on encouraging her students to engage deeply and meaningfully with their study of Latin, to serve their communities, and to exhibit caritas in every aspect of their lives, and she has led by example. Under her sponsorship, Service to the community has been the heart of Menlo’s JCL chapter, which hosted events for or supported local homeless shelters, charitable organizations, and underserved populations in the Bay Area. Dobbie guides students to action in attention to social justice, diversity, and inclusion. She has traveled extensively with her students to enhance their study of Classics, and she has often been the first to arrive and the last to leave school, supporting students in their Latin study and working with her JCL students and other colleagues on community events, including hosting Ludi and the CAJCL convention multiple times. Dobbie models lifelong learning for her students, pursuing postgraduate opportunities at Oxford, Yale, Columbia, Stanford, the Paideia Institute, and many more. Dobbie’s extensive career epitomizes and inspires a dedication to the humanities that infuses her teaching, her warmth and care for her students, colleagues, and friends, and her continued advocacy for the profession – it is indeed her monumentum aere perennius.
Eligibility and Application for the Dobbie Vasquez Excellence in Teaching Award All teachers who have taught for at least 5 years and are current CCA-North members in good standing are eligible for the award. One may nominate an exceptional Latin teacher or self-nominate. An applicant’s dossier should consist of the following:
● Candidate statement on teaching listing their accomplishments and strengths as an
educator (no more than 3 pages)
● Candidate CV
● 2 letters of recommendation from colleagues (fellow teachers, department members,
administrators). At least 1 letter must be from a current colleague
● 1-2 letters of recommendation from former students and/or parents
Some criteria for award selection are:
● Commitment to social justice, equity and inclusion, and encouraging diversity in the
study of Latin
● Innovative teaching approaches
● Evidence of successful teaching, broadly defined
● Evidence of continued growth and development within the field
● Service to the profession
If you would like to nominate a teacher or nominate yourself for this award, please email all required materials to [email protected]. We ask that letters of recommendation not be sent by the nominee but by the letter writers themselves. Award winners will be selected by a subcommittee of the CCA-North Board. Current CCA-North Board members are not eligible.
The Dobbie Vasquez Excellence in Teaching Award comes with a small monetary prize, and the presentation of this award will occur at the CCA-North Fall Conference. The awardee will also be acknowledged and celebrated in the next edition of the CCA-North newsletter Notanda Borea. The deadline for receipt of complete dossiers is June 30. The complete dossiers of those who were nominated but did not win will be kept and reconsidered for the award for the following two years. After that point, a fresh dossier must be submitted. Award winners are not eligible to win a second time.
A note about Dobbie Vasquez’s career and dedication to Latin teaching.
Our colleague and friend, Dobbie Vasquez, exemplifies a lifelong commitment to the study ofLatin, reflected in her own learning, in her service, and in her dedication to teaching. From herhigh school years at the Girls Latin School in Boston to pursuing her undergraduate and graduate degrees at Mt. Holyoke and Harvard, Dobbie exhibited a passion for learning and a joie de vivre that became the hallmarks of her teaching. After launching her teaching career on the east coast, she taught for the longest period at Menlo School, where she piloted and then instituted the Latin program that would become her legacy there, guiding students from middle school through post-AP Latin. She has worked tirelessly and served in leadership roles for the American Classical League, the National Junior Classical League, and the California Junior Classical League, as well as the California Classical Association (and before her move to California, she did the same in New York). A three-time winner of Menlo’s Arrillaga Teaching Award, Dobbie has always centered her teaching on encouraging her students to engage deeply and meaningfully with their study of Latin, to serve their communities, and to exhibit caritas in every aspect of their lives, and she has led by example. Under her sponsorship, Service to the community has been the heart of Menlo’s JCL chapter, which hosted events for or supported local homeless shelters, charitable organizations, and underserved populations in the Bay Area. Dobbie guides students to action in attention to social justice, diversity, and inclusion. She has traveled extensively with her students to enhance their study of Classics, and she has often been the first to arrive and the last to leave school, supporting students in their Latin study and working with her JCL students and other colleagues on community events, including hosting Ludi and the CAJCL convention multiple times. Dobbie models lifelong learning for her students, pursuing postgraduate opportunities at Oxford, Yale, Columbia, Stanford, the Paideia Institute, and many more. Dobbie’s extensive career epitomizes and inspires a dedication to the humanities that infuses her teaching, her warmth and care for her students, colleagues, and friends, and her continued advocacy for the profession – it is indeed her monumentum aere perennius.
Eligibility and Application for the Dobbie Vasquez Excellence in Teaching Award All teachers who have taught for at least 5 years and are current CCA-North members in good standing are eligible for the award. One may nominate an exceptional Latin teacher or self-nominate. An applicant’s dossier should consist of the following:
● Candidate statement on teaching listing their accomplishments and strengths as an
educator (no more than 3 pages)
● Candidate CV
● 2 letters of recommendation from colleagues (fellow teachers, department members,
administrators). At least 1 letter must be from a current colleague
● 1-2 letters of recommendation from former students and/or parents
Some criteria for award selection are:
● Commitment to social justice, equity and inclusion, and encouraging diversity in the
study of Latin
● Innovative teaching approaches
● Evidence of successful teaching, broadly defined
● Evidence of continued growth and development within the field
● Service to the profession
If you would like to nominate a teacher or nominate yourself for this award, please email all required materials to [email protected]. We ask that letters of recommendation not be sent by the nominee but by the letter writers themselves. Award winners will be selected by a subcommittee of the CCA-North Board. Current CCA-North Board members are not eligible.
The Dobbie Vasquez Excellence in Teaching Award comes with a small monetary prize, and the presentation of this award will occur at the CCA-North Fall Conference. The awardee will also be acknowledged and celebrated in the next edition of the CCA-North newsletter Notanda Borea. The deadline for receipt of complete dossiers is June 30. The complete dossiers of those who were nominated but did not win will be kept and reconsidered for the award for the following two years. After that point, a fresh dossier must be submitted. Award winners are not eligible to win a second time.
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