Ms. Nichols

“We’re here for you.”

Lexi Nichols is one of Woodglen’s Special Education teachers. The challenges virtual and hybrid learning pose for our staff and students are exponentially compounded in the special education environment. Regarding Ms. Nichols’s nomination to the Above & Beyond roster, Principal Rubright was quite clear: “Special Education Teachers have had some of the toughest jobs in the building.”

During her pre-pandemic time at Woodglen, Ms. Nichols worked predominantly with 6th grade, teaching ELA and acting as in-class support. As the fallout of the pandemic revealed a need for more coverage in more classrooms, Ms. Nichols was presented with a tremendous challenge. Far beyond her previous remit, Ms. Nichols was asked to assume responsibilities for the entire science curricula, and not only for the 6th grade, but the 7th and 8th Grades as well. Onboarding an entirely new skillset in a completely new subject area requires a remarkable amount of intellectual agility, but just as importantly a top-notch attitude. She quickly rose to the challenge and adapted to both the new subject area and different grade levels. She has done an outstanding job working with all of her students across these grade levels. Science is not the easiest subject to pick-up, particularly without previous experience, but Ms. Nichols continues to work incredibly hard to ensure that the special education students under her tutelage are able to grasp a spectrum of science concepts in every grade level for which she assumed responsibility. Through every challenge, she has maintained an incredibly positive outlook which certainly transfers to her students.

In addition to the mentoring she’s received from our science teachers, Mr. Knowles & Ms. Szmaida, she spends a lot of late nights and weekends learning, researching, preparing and developing lesson plans to ensure her science students are engaged with and absorbing the science curricula. Teaching science in a virtual/hybrid/socially distanced scenario is additionally difficult because kids can’t experience hands-on labs in particular, and Ms. Nichols has been working on creative and effective ways to surmount this difficulty, while at the same time encouraging social and emotional connections. She dedicates time during each class to fostering the interactions which our kids have been deeply missing.

Throughout her own process of expanding her competencies and skillset, Ms. Nichols has grown as an educator and continues develop ways to help her students create their own success stories. A lesson from her father informs her approach to education: “The most successful people are unafraid to fail.” This is the type of bravery Ms. Nichols brings to both her own development and the educational and emotional growth of her students.

Asked if she could share one sentiment with the district, Ms. Nichols barely hesitated: “We’re here for you.” She is greatly appreciative of the communication and collaboration she shares with the families of her students. Ms. Nichols, that appreciation goes both ways.

Thank you, Ms. Nichols - we can’t wait to see what else you accomplish with our students and for this district.