Nicole Blanchard
Nicole Blanchard earned a BA in Psychology from George Mason University (Fairfax, Va.) and a M.Ed in Special Education from Marymount University (Arlington, Va.).
As a math teacher for special education students at Ironwood Ridge High School, Ms. Blanchard has mastered the art and the skill of working with the most challenging student population while achieving universal academic success. She maintains a classroom rooted in respect, kindness, and high expectations and her ability to meet students where they are and build them up to achieve at high levels is unparalleled. Students are eager to be in her class and are actively engaged. In fact, all of her students for the past six years have graduated from high school, many of which have had to overcome substantial obstacles in their path to this rite of passage (including severe learning disabilities, emotional disabilities, autism, chronic health impairment, and Tourette’s syndrome). Many of her former students have continued their education, successfully completed JTED programs, proudly joined the armed services, or achieved other forms of steady employment.
Nicole Blanchard is a co-sponsor of the Veterans Heritage Project (VHP), which is a student service organization dedicated to collecting, recording, and preserving the stories of veterans’ service to our nation. This dynamic program connects students with veterans of all ages to record and publish their stories for future generations in a book titled, “Since You Asked,” that is submitted to the U.S. Library of Congress each year. However, the organization’s focus goes much deeper than a history preservation project. The relationships and learning as a result of this program are immeasurable and both the student’s and veteran’s lives are profoundly changed by the interactive experience of collecting and preserving these stories.
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