The Rhode Island Foreign Language Association (RIFLA) recently recognized Mr. Adam Laliberte, one of NKHS’s Spanish teachers, with their annual Teacher of the Year Award.

Laliberte, who was selected by a committee of individuals that he has never met, received the award at a banquet on May 8. “I’m very thankful to have gotten selected by people I don’t know,” he said.

The committee from RIFLA selected him on account of “his ability to teach a range of students well,” including a demographic that typically “does not have the opportunity to learn a foreign language.” This year, Laliberte teaches Adaptive Spanish, Spanish 3 Honors, and AP Spanish.

Laliberte, who has earned degrees in Spanish from both URI and Brown University, has worked at NKHS for the past 11 years. He received both a plaque and an award of $500 for his achievement.

“I am very appreciative of my colleagues because they make it easier to do my job,” Laliberte said. “I definitely appreciate my [former and current] students as well… They make me want to do the best job I can here.”