Nicole Bjarnason is an ambitious bilingual educator with experience and extensive dedication to school programs, curriculum and professional development.
The foundation of her passion for teaching lies in her extensive knowledge of the Spanish language and culture along her devotion to shaping the future of her students in a culturally responsive manner.
Certified to teach 7-12 Spanish, she has devoted five years teaching in different settings. Starting her journey co-teaching a Spanish 1 course at LIU, she taught entry college level Spanish with her professor.
Upon finishing her coursework for LIU, she completed her student teaching in the Deer Park School district where she developed her lesson plans and collaborated with colleagues to develop unit plans that are still used today.
She was then hired to teach in the Island Trees Union Free School District as a Spanish teacher for levels 7- 12 and served as advisor to the French and Spanish Honor Societies as well as advisor to the freshman, sophomore then junior class. After 4 years, Nicole was finally able to go back to teaching Spanish at Deer Park High School where her teaching journey began!
As of September, 2021, Nicole has become an integral part of the Deer Park community. She serves as Co-Advisor of the Spanish and French Honor societies with Dina Pannone. She is a member of several committees including Eligibility Committee, Student of the Month Committee, National Honor Society Committee, Learning Support Committee among others. She volunteers her lunch periods to co-teach an ENL exploratory seminar with the school librarian. She also home tutors students who are unable to attend classes after school and provides technical and curricular support to her colleagues on a regular basis.
Nicole is a very motivated educator and someone who enjoys honing her skills as a language instructor. She is dedicated to developing her skills by attending yearly conferences such as ACTFL, LILT, NECTFL and AATSP. Aside from spending time learning and networking at these conferences, Nicole has given back by presenting at ACTFL's 2019 conference on Teaching for Social Justice in the World Language Classroom, at NECTFL's 2022 conference on
Strategies for Creating an Inclusive Classroom through a Cultural Lens and Differentiation in the World Language Classroom and most recently at AATSP's 2022 conference on inspiring inclusivity and diversity through the Spanish Honor Society. She was recently published in ACTFL's the Language Educator, Summer 2022, Volume 17, Issue 3- Differentiation of Instruction: Engaging, Empowering and Elevating Learners. She was invited to present at NYSAFLT's annual conference in Rochester on inclusive, cultural teaching practices and NYS new standards in October 2022.