Robert Oliver is a native of Suffolk, Virginia. He began his career as a foreign language teacher in 1973 and moved to the Peninsula in 1978. He has taught in the school systems of Suffolk, Hampton, Virginia Beach and York County. He has taught Spanish, French, Latin, and ESL at the college to middle school levels. Mr. Oliver’s multiple endorsements and years of experience enable him to enjoy teaching more than one language at Grafton. He loves languages, learning and working with parents, students and his colleagues.

Mr. Oliver earned a B.S. in Secondary Education from Old Dominion University and an M.A. in Spanish from Middlebury College in Vermont.

He has also traveled to Spain, Italy, France, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Luxembourg and Québec. Mr. Oliver also participated twice in the Zweibrucken-York County exchange program and has spent two summers in Germany as the teacher/chaperon of the group. He has also enjoyed working with the German Distance Learning program between York and Grafton High School.

Mr. Oliver’s daughter, Charlotte, a GHS alumna, graduated from the College of Charleston in South Carolina with a degree in Spanish and Arts Management after spending her junior year abroad in Seville, Spain with UNC. She also spent a year with AmeriCorps in Puerto Rico writing bi-lingual grants for the municipality of Aguadilla. Having completed a master’s in bi-lingual legal interpreting, now she lives in northern Virginia and works in Washington, D.C. with the Hispanic community.

Mr. Oliver’s foster daughter, Linh La, is married to John Duong. They work as civil servants across from the Pentagon. On September 11^th, both heard and felt the explosion nearby but were unharmed. They live in Northern Virginia, too, with their two sons.

Mr. Oliver is available and enjoys giving extra help before and after school to his students. He may be contacted directly at school at 898-0530 or by Email at boliver@ycsd.york.va.us via the internet.