Stergios Lazos is APA's National Latin Teacher of the Year

Stergios Lazos, chair of the St. Edward High School Modern & Classical Languages Department, was in Los Angeles, Calif. on Friday, January 8 to be honored as the American Philological Association’s Pre-Collegiate Teacher of the Year.

The award recognizes national excellence in pre-collegiate classics instruction based on success, size and growth of the classics program in the honorees school; outreach and promotion of the classics; innovative and creative classroom activity; evidence of improved student learning; student success in contests and competitions; and professional development.

The APA recognized Lazos for his contribution to the growth of the Latin program at St. Edward High School, as well as the level of success his students have on the National Latin Exam and the Advanced Placement Latin Exam. 

"It is clear that Stergios Lazos exhorts his students to excellence in every moment of his teaching,” said APA vice-president Lee Perry during his introduction of Lazos at the national conference.

Lazos has played a key role in the St. Edward High School Latin program twice being named best in the state of Ohio by the Ohio Classical Conference.  The Modern & Classical Languages department was also named best in the state in 2007 by the Ohio Foreign Language Association.

"All of my students, the weakest to the strongest, are eager to tell their peers they are in Latin,” said Lazos, who is a graduate of Dartmouth College.  "I only try to give my students what was given to me.”