The College of Letters and Science at UC Davis congratulates Junko Ito, continuing lecturer of Japanese, on being honored as the 2024 California Japanese Language Teacher of the Year by the California Association of Japanese Language Teachers. 

The California Japanese Language Teacher of the Year Award recognizes and celebrates exceptional teachers who exemplify teaching excellence, continuous learning through professional development, leadership, and advocacy for Japanese language education. A representative is chosen for each of the two categories: K-12 level and college level.

Ito has taught in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures in L&S since 2010.

"I cannot believe how blessed I am with supportive and caring administrators, colleagues and student," Ito said in response to receiving the recognition. "I have a breadth of experience in teaching Japanese across multiple levels, but at every level, I had immense support that allowed me to develop curriculum and expand programs. I cannot thank those administrators and colleagues enough for their support."

Ito has taught at all educational levels, including elementary school summer classes, middle school, high school, community colleges and universities. She has developed new curriculum at both UC Davis and Sacramento City College, and has helped expand programs at Sacramento City College and Mira Loma High School. Ito also helped established the Japanese language program at Churchill Middle School.

Highlights for awardee by selection committee

Junko Ito, our Higher Ed recipient has been at UC Davis since 2010, but she has taught all levels, elementary through college, where she was recognized and loved for not only exemplary teaching, but her passion and commitment to students. Her career epitomizes service to the profession, which has benefited greatly from her strong, dedicated leadership.  She has been a voice for advocacy and a driving force in community and regional events promoting and highlighting Japanese language education in the Greater Sacramento area for more than two decades. She has also served in various leadership positions for two regional Japanese teachers’ organizations (NCJTA and CAJLT) for a total of 15 years, including as president of NCJTA. 

One of the letters on her behalf stated that as current president of NCJTA, Ito-sensei is “dedicated to seeing the organization sustain itself for future generations of educators” and that she “envisions expanding and strengthening connections with other world language organizations at both regional and national levels.” Under Ito-sensei’s leadership, NCJTA has made a concerted effort to reach out and recruit more K-12 teachers to the organization, which had traditionally been viewed as being more for university instructors in the San Francisco Bay Area. NCJTA now includes Japanese teachers from all over California as well as other states and Japan and South Korea who are able to participate online in meetings and workshops. Two years ago, when the Japanese Foreign Ministry awarded NCJTA a commendation for its fifty-year contribution to Japanese language education in the U.S., Ito-sensei shared her long term vision of a broader and more interconnected future for NCJT