Amanda Ledwon, Ryan High School social studies teacher since 2019, has been named the 2023 International Educator of the Year by the World Affairs Council (WAC) of Dallas/Fort Worth. Ms. Ledwon has been associated with the Council for more than seven years and an educator for more than twenty years.
 
Working directly with high schools and universities, the Council encounters educators devoted to enriching their students' knowledge of world affairs and 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 twenty-year teaching career 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 Women’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."
 
Ms. Ledwon enjoys traveling and has visited several countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. She is also a recipient of the teacher study abroad program with the Council and will be traveling 2023 to the United Arab Emirates for Spring Break.
 
The 2023 WAC International Educator of the Year award ceremony will be held on Monday, March 27, 2023, at noon at the Arts District Mansion located at 2101 Ross Ave in Dallas, TX 75201 and features a conversation with U.S Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price, alumni of the Council’s international education program. See more photos of Ms. Ledwon’s classroom surprise.

Tickets for the event can be purchased through the ticket portal.