Ryan High School Teacher Named International Educator of the Year

Ryan High School social studies teacher Amanda Ledwon has been named the 2023 International Educator of the Year by the World Affairs Council (WAC) of Dallas-Fort Worth. 

A veteran educator with more than 20 years of experience, Ms. Ledwon has taught social studies at Ryan High School since 2019. She has been associated with the WAC for over seven years. 

The WAC works directly with high school and university educators who are devoted to enriching their students’ knowledge of world affairs while expanding their international learning opportunities. These teachers and administrators demonstrate leadership by exceeding their typical responsibilities. 

The International Educator of the Year award honors these educators. 
 
“I am beyond words, and I am proud to inspire so many of my former [and current] students,” said Ms. Ledwon upon hearing the news of winning the award. “I have admired this organization and their ability to find the most amazing teachers to honor year after year, and I am extremely humbled to be standing on the shoulders of some of the most revered educators in the profession.”
 
Ms. Ledwon is known for her passion and dedication to involving students in international studies. She reads the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights to her students each year to educate them about this important global topic. Through her teaching, she has inspired former students to pursue both undergraduate and graduate degrees in human rights.
 
Ms. Ledwon’s two-decade teaching career has covered all education levels, from grade school to college. In addition to teaching social studies at Ryan High School, she is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Texas at Dallas and an adjunct professor at Texas Woman’s University and Collin College.
 
In 2021, Ms. Ledwon received the district’s Honor Graduate Educator of Influence Award. She has been a member of the Ukrainian American Society of Texas and Zorya Ukrainian Dance Ensemble since 2000. For the 2010-2011 school year, she was an alternate for the Garcia Robles Fulbright Study Abroad Grant to Mexico. In 2016, she was part of the Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad Scholarship “Through the Lens of Jordan: Integrating Middle Eastern Narratives into North Texas Social Studies Curriculum."