Juanita High Japanese language teacher wins national award


Juanita High Japanese language teacher wins national award
Kai Tsukamaki - JHS Japanese teacher

It is one thing to be nominated at the state level. It is a whole other thing to win on the national level. That is exactly what happened to Juanita High School teacher Kei Tsukamaki in September. Tsukamaki was nominated by the Washington Association of Teachers of Japanese (WATJ) board in both 2021 and 2022. She was selected from the national pool of nominees this year. That makes her the recipient of the American Association of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ) 2022 Teacher Award in the K-12 category. Tsukamaki will be presented with the award at a convention in November. She will also be featured in the AATJ newsletter and on the website. 

“It is clear that you excel in all of the areas that we want to recognize and honor with this award,” said AATJ President Tomoko Takami. 

Tsukamaki was recognized for her work in quality and innovative teaching. AATJ also mentioned her service to the profession and to the community. They recognized the advocacy for her program and the Japanese language as a whole. 


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