'Absolutely awesome,' 'phenomenal': Lanclos knows how to reach students

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of three stories about the St. Mary Parish Teachers of the Year. Tomorrow’s subject will be Middle School Teacher of the Year Loraine Sinitiere.

“Absolutely awesome,” “phenomenal,” and “kindhearted” are words former co-workers use to describe 2015-16 St. Mary Parish Schools Elementary Teacher of the Year Melinda Lanclos.
Lanclos is a special education teacher for grades kindergarten through fifth grade at Centerville School.
“A special education teacher has to be able to modify the curriculum, make accommodations, prepare students for standardized assessments, effectively manage the classroom, and discipline students with disabilities in a way that is consistent with SPED law,” said Elaine Foster, a Ph.D. in special education and associate professor of curriculum and instruction at Grambling State University, in an email.
Before transferring to Centerville, she was nominated while teaching at Raintree Elementary in Baldwin.
When second-grade student Maliika Blackburn took her initial tour of Centerville in July, she was very reticent about coming down with her guardian, said Sarah Daigle, registered nurse at Centerville School.
“She didn’t want to interact and had no social interaction skills whatsoever,” Daigle said. “Sometimes you have to wait for certain children to interact with you.”
Maliika was very reluctant even to participate in conversation.
School started, and Maliika was placed in Lanclos’ class.
“Maybe two weeks later, the same little girl was walking down the hall literally having her own conversation with the teacher,” Daigle said.
These days Maliika is smiling and waving to people after getting dropped off at school in the morning.
She is able to pronounce words and count numbers all within two months of school starting.
Lanclos has a reputation for drawing children out of their shells if their communication skills are impaired. She is also known for showing empathy through self-disclosure with parents in conferences, whether the conversation is about medications, resources or students’ needs.
“Parents all speak highly of her,” said St. Mary Parish Schools Coordinator of Elementary Special Education Marianna Adams. “They smile ear to ear when they find out their child is in Lanclos’ class.”
Lanclos is from the community of Centerville and attended school there from grades 1 through 12.
After graduating with a degree in child and family studies from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, she taught 4-year-olds in a daycare for one year.
Lanclos began her career in the St. Mary Parish school system as a kindergarten teacher. At the time, a special education teacher next door was retiring.
“I fell in love with the kids,” Lanclos said.
“I observed her a few times. I felt it was extremely rewarding.”
Seizing the opportunity once the teacher retired, Lanclos stepped into her classroom and assumed the responsibilities of a special education teacher. This includes completing the requirements for teacher certification in special education at Nicholls State University.
She is in her 16th year of teaching.
“It’s genuine appreciation from the kids,” Lanclos said. “They extremely appreciate everything you do for them.”
Her job requires a lot of paperwork.
There have been many days Lanclos “wanted to go home, not wanting to give up or quit, but needing to regroup,” she said.
“It can be extremely stressful and challenging at times but you just have to think the end result will be worth it.”
Her students include those who are moderately disabled, those with learning disabilities and autistic children, Adams said.
“From those who are the neediest to those who need just a little bit of encouragement, that’s what she does,” Adams said. “She encourages all children to try and celebrates their successes every day.”
Lanclos “goes above and beyond the call of duty to make sure her kids are receiving their services and learning,” said Raintree Elementary Assistant Principal Markita Grant.
She does a great job of challenging students at their level and differentiates instruction for her students.
Lanclos is “phenomenal and the rapport that she has with the kids ... I mean amazing,” Grant said.
“Melinda is the type of person who goes above and beyond what is required or asked of her to do in that job,” said Raintree Elementary former co-worker Lisa Rodriguez.
“She helps the teachers with whatever help they need. She is very professional, creative, outgoing and kindhearted.”
Lanclos “left our school this year to go to another school (Centerville) and we were just devastated,” Rodriguez said.
As for winning the parish-wide elementary teacher of the year award, “this was a shock to me,” Lanclos said. “I didn’t plan on winning.”
Lanclos is the wife of Glenn Lanclos and the mother of Chloe, 12, and Aidan, 9.