Special recognition
Sunday, September 4, 2005 1:32 AM PDT
JESSICA KELLER
ARGUS OBSERVER
NYSSA
Nyssa High School teacher Kent Blanchard has become a familiar face within the school district and he said he attributes his success to one thing: the students.
Blanchard, who was recently lauded by Oregon State Superintendent of Schools Susan Castillo for his success in the district, said his dedication is tied directly to the students.
Once a week, Castillo acknowledges outstanding teachers who have caught her attention and recognizes them in her "teacher feature" during her weekly updates, and last week Blanchard received the honors.
According to the "teacher feature," Castillo singled out Blanchard because of his dedication to working with students in and out of the classroom, offering his time, his encouragement and challenging them to push harder in their studies. She also noted Blanchard's work within the school district on a daily basis - coaching basketball and football, acting as union bargaining president, a class adviser, a member of the high school improvement team and chair of Nyssa math department - as proof of his dedication to students.
Blanchard, who has worked in the school district as a high school math teacher for 16 years, is modest about what he does, although Nyssa School District Superintendent Don Grotting is quick to point out the recognition is well deserved.
"It's just been a pleasure to work here," Blanchard said. "It's fun, it's challenging, it's rewarding. It's everything teaching's supposed to be."
Much of Blanchard's time is spent outside the classroom, and actually, when Grotting called Blanchard to tell him of the recognition, Blanchard was handing out football equipment to fifth- and sixth-graders in the community youth program. Other nights, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. twice a week, Blanchard studies math with all students seeking to improve their skills.
In his Algebra 2, geometry and college prep math classes with the focus on precalculus and calculus, Blanchard said he tries to keep his students' attentions captured.
"It's about keeping the students engaged in mathematics, helping them stay challenged," Blanchard said.
Blanchard said he tries to keep his lessons "relevant and rigorous," a goal of all Nyssa's teachers.
Grotting agreed with Blanchard's assessment of his classes. Grotting said Blanchard is well-loved by his students, but they are most frequently commenting on the challenge placed upon them as well, especially among the students in his higher level math classes.
"You'll hear them say 'Oh man, Blanchard's great, but he's killing us with his homework,'" Grotting said.
"But Mr. Blanchard's one of their favorite teachers, but also one of the teachers who has some very high expectations and a lot of rigor in his classes," he added.
When Blanchard is not staying busy with his students or extracurricular activities, he is spending time with his wife, who is also a teacher at the high school, and their three sons.
"It is nice to live in a small community. There are some advantages to that," Blanchard said.
