Local students shine in National Spanish Language Competition

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  • (front) Sarah Coenen, Lucy Paskey, Hope Phillis, Leah Coenen, Chloe Kerschner, Holly Swan and Ella Shillinglaw; (middle) Cory Nelson, Eli Coenen, Parker Heggie and Zaysha Foster; (back) Jabari Etuk, Boyan Krastev, Landan Escoto, Robbie Moody, Mayghan Kemnitz, and Ella Humphries; (not pictured) Lexie Wentland.
    (front) Sarah Coenen, Lucy Paskey, Hope Phillis, Leah Coenen, Chloe Kerschner, Holly Swan and Ella Shillinglaw; (middle) Cory Nelson, Eli Coenen, Parker Heggie and Zaysha Foster; (back) Jabari Etuk, Boyan Krastev, Landan Escoto, Robbie Moody, Mayghan Kemnitz, and Ella Humphries; (not pictured) Lexie Wentland.
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The Westfield Area High School Spanish Department is thrilled to recognize and congratulate a number of their students from our school that have once again demonstrated excellence on the 2024 National Spanish Exam earning well-deserved national recognition.
The AATSP Exams is a program of the esteemed American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. With a rich history dating back to 1957, the National Spanish Exam NSE is administered annually from grades 6 through 12 and serves as a cornerstone of academic achievement in Spanish language education.
As the largest of their kind in the United States, the NSE attracted over 80,000 student participants in 2024. Achieving gold, silver, or bronze status in the NSE opens doors for students to explore a variety of scholarship opportunities provided through the AATSP Exams program. The National Spanish Examination is an online, standardized assessment tool given voluntarily by over 3,400 teachers throughout the United States to measure proficiency and achievement of students who are studying Spanish as a second language.
In a long standing tradition, every Westfield student that took the exam earned at least an honorable mention. On the national level, Westfield earned a total of one gold award (Level 3: Robert Moody), two silver awards (Level 3: Zaysha Foster and Level 2: Ella Humphries), and six bronze awards (Level 4: Mayghan Kemnitz and Ella Shillinglaw, Level 3: Chloe Kerschner, Level 2: Boyan Krastev, and Level 1: Sarah Coenen and Lucy Paskey) along with nine honorable mentions (Level 4: Leah Coenen, Level 3: Landan Escota and Holly Swan, Level 2: Jabari Etuk and Lexie Wentland, and Level 1: Eli Coenen, Parker Heggie, Cory Nelson and Hope Phillis). The achievement of earning a medal or honorable mention is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our students.
In addition, one student placed in the top ten in the state by percentile. Honors for outstanding performance on the Spanish Level 3 exam were earned by Robert Moody. Robert, son of David and Anne Moody, tied for 1st place in the state by percentile and outscored 99% of all other students who took the same level exam in the nation. This is a huge accomplishment and reflects his hard work, determination and commitment to mastering the Spanish language.
Congratulations to all of the students who accepted the challenge to compete nationally while participating in this difficult exam and especially to those who earned special recognition. Students from Westfield Area High School have a long history of high achievement on these exams thanks to the guidance and expertise of Westfield’s dedicated Spanish teachers Julianne West and Steve Jones.