Apply for the Coccia-Inserra 2020 Teaching Award!

Announcing 2020 Coccia-Inserra Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Teaching of Italian (K-12)

Apply now for the 2020 Coccia-Inserra Award!

The Coccia-Inserra Award honors a teacher of Italian at the K-12 level, and is generously donated by Coccia Foundation in the name and memory of its founder, Cav. Joseph Coccia, Jr., and by Mr. Lawrence R. Inserra, Jr.   Founded in 1994 by Joseph and Elda Coccia, Coccia Foundation aggressively pursues the preservation and promotion of Italian culture, in conjunction with its ‘academic arm,’ the Coccia Institute for the Italian Experience in America at Montclair State University.  Mr. Inserra, CEO of Inserra Supermarkets, Inc., also contributes significantly to the rich field of Italian American Studies, having instituted in 2011 the Theresa and Lawrence R. Inserra Endowed Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies, also housed at Montclair State University.

Accompanying the award is a generous $5000 prize. The funds are to be allocated as follows: a) $2500 is to be used exclusively to advance the Italian language and culture curriculum and programming for classroom and field trip use; and b) $2500 is to be dedicated to the professional development of the winning teacher (for direct payment of academic fees to an institution of professional development in Italian language and culture at home or abroad). Eligible for the award are full-time language teachers certified as teachers of Italian, who are teaching a minimum of two classes of Italian at the K-12 level.   Candidates are evaluated on the following criteria: lesson planning and preparation, instructional innovations, and involvement in professional associations and relevant community activities outside the classroom.

A Blue Ribbon Panel of experts has been established to oversee the process and select the award recipient. Since its inception, the Dirigente Scolastico of the Consulate General of Italy in New York has served on the panel of judges. Succeeding Dr. Anthony Julian Tamburri, Distinguished Professor of European Languages and Literatures and Dean of the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute at Queens College (New York, New York) and Dr. Clorinda Donato, George L. Graziadio Chair of Italian Studies, California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach, California) as Chair of the panel of judges is Prof. Andrea Baldi, Chair of the Department of Italian at Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ).  Introducing the panel of judges:

• Dr. Andrea Baldi, Professor of Italian, Rutgers University (New Brunswick, New Jersey)
• Dr. Annavaleria Guazzieri, Dirigente Scolastica, Consulate General of Italy in New York (New York, New York)
• Dr. Roberto Dolci, Associate Professor of Linguistics, Università per Stranieri di Perugia  (Perugia, Italy)
• Ida Nolemi Lanza, San Pedro High School (retired), San Pedro, California); Recipient of the 2013 Coccia-Inserra Teaching Award
• Dr. Mary Sisler, Visiting Assistant Professor of Italian, Hamilton College (Clinton, NY)

The Coccia-Inserra Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Teaching of Italian (K-12) is presented at the annual professional development program, “Teaching Italian Symposium/Workshops for Instructional Materials,” a collaboration between the Coccia Institute and the Italian program, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, held each fall at Montclair State University, Montclair, New Jersey.