Nicole Jolicoeur, a Rancho Pico Junior High School special education teacher, was selected as the William S. Hart Union High School District Teacher of the Year for the 2024/2025 school year.   Jolicoeur has been teaching in the Hart district for 16 years. For 13 of those years she taught physical education and for three of those years she has been teaching special education.   Nicole Jolicoeur, a Rancho Pico Junior High School special education teacher, was selected as the William S. Hart Union High School District Teacher of the Year for the 2024/2025 school year. Courtesy of Debbie Dunn. She said she was initially shocked that she was selected for this award.   “I feel very honored, because there’s a lot of really outstanding teachers in the Hart district, and it feels nice to be recognized for my hard work,” said Jolicoeur.  Jolicoeur works with students who have moderate to severe disabilities. She said many moments have made her teaching career worthwhile.   “Just seeing things click for them, that normally would be so easy for other people to learn, that are more challenging for my students to learn,” said Jolicoeur. “Then we can praise them and the smile on their face just means like the world to me and to the other adult staff in my classroom.”   Jolicoeur also runs a peer mentor program that selects students to work with the special education students and form friendships. She said watching the bonds between her students and the mentors adds genuine enjoyment to the classroom.   “They are loved and for who they are as a person, not for who they could be,” said Jolicoeur. “I’m proud of them for all their milestones, whether they’re small or big, and they should be proud of who they are and how much they grow each school year.”  In addition to Jolicoeur being in the classroom, there are five instructional assistants who help her with the students. Jolicoeur said they are the backbone of the classroom, and she wouldn’t be the teacher she is without them. They lift her up on hard days and work with the students as much as she does.  One of her instructional assistants, Marisa Caldwell, has worked with Jolicoeur for five years and said Jolicoeur stepped into the role of special education teacher with no hesitation and has changed the dynamic of the classroom.   “It’s really for our students, because some of them are nonverbal, she makes it so that they have a voice,” said Caldwell.   She said that Jolicoeur makes sure the students are using their augmentative and alternative communication devices to meet their set goals. She added that Jolicoeur had a loving personality with the students and is constantly going above and beyond for them.   “She’s a gold star standard,” said Caldwell. “I could think of no one more deserving of this award than her. She goes above and beyond. She always puts everyone first, and I would hope that other teachers would see that and want to learn from her.”  After selecting their teacher of the year, each L.A. County school district forwards their honoree to the L.A. County Teacher of the Year competition. On Friday, Jolicoeur will find out if she made the Top 16 at the ceremony.   The post Nicole Jolicoeur is named Hart District Teacher of the Year  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.