by Jen Oemig
CHELMSFORD – Dr. Danja Mahoney has been hired as the new Department Coordinator of World Language and Cultural Exchanges at Chelmsford Public Schools.
Dr. Mahoney, who officially started on July 1, comes to CPS from Reading Public Schools, where she served as both a World Language teacher and Department Chair.
She brings a depth of experience as a leader and teacher who is passionate about building thriving language programming and increasing access to high quality learning for all students.
“Over the years, I’ve been a Latin teacher, Spanish teacher and French teacher,” she said, noting that the 2024-25 academic year will be her 31st in education. “I did a little bit of ESL and a little bit of traveling to teach English, first in Spain and then in Nicaragua. Language learning and language travel is something that’s really near to my heart.”
Dr. Mahoney’s experiences as a classroom teacher, department leader and volunteer for the professional growth of the world language profession have uniquely prepared her for this role.
“I love coaching teachers, I love supporting students and gaining language skills,” she said. “This feels like a perfect fit for me. I’m so excited to be here in Chelmsford.”
The love of language for Dr. Mahoney began with Latin when she was in eighth grade and continued on at Grinnell College in Iowa, where she was a language classics major.
“When I was studying classics, I was required to take other languages, so as an undergrad, I took Latin, Greek, Italian and French,” she said. “And then in graduate school, I continued with that and picked up Spanish along the way. Once you learn one of them, they kind of build on each other, but I’ve always just had a passion for words and languages.”
A resident of Andover who grew up in Lunenberg, Dr. Mahoney said she had been looking for a position that was not only closer to home, but also felt more like home.
“Chelmsford really feels like home,” she said. “It’s a really welcoming community and there’s strong support for the schools, as well as a long tradition of language and cultural exchange, which is something that I really value. And I think students get the most out of a trip if there’s a foundation of understanding and learning that goes with it.”
The language department already has a couple student travel opportunities in the works, including a trip to Panama and Costa Rica in April, as well as a French immersion program that’s scheduled.
“And hopefully, we can think of some shorter term, more local activities that can be a cultural growth opportunity for students,” Dr. Mahoney said. “That way, students who can’t necessarily travel over breaks for whatever reason will hopefully be able to take advantage of some of those opportunities.”
With those trips already established, Dr. Mahoney said she will begin the process of planning a Spanish exchange the 2025-26 academic year, as well as other cultural activities.
“We have such a thriving program for ASL that I’d like to pursue some opportunities there,” she said. “There’s a lot of opportunities to do things like deaf theater programming in Boston or New York … opportunities to become more immersed in the deaf community and to really use the language that they’re learning.”
As for her goals and expectations for the coming year, Dr. Mahoney said she plans to continue building upon the proficiency goals laid out in the state curriculum framework, which was introduced in 2021.
“I would love to see all of our programs grow so every student has the opportunity to learn to communicate in at least one other language if not more,” she said.
Dr. Mahoney said she has especially high hopes for the State Seal of Biliteracy program, noting that it is an internationally recognized criteria and provides great opportunities for students.
“I would love to see that continue to grow, doing proficiency testing in the spring and really supporting all of our learners, not just in French, Spanish and ASL, but all of those home languages, as well,” she said. “There’s a lot of opportunity that comes from the Seal of Biliteracy. … And it’s such a great way to highlight the strengths of our students and the skills that they bring to our community.”
