Sitting on the elementary playground a rock came flying out of nowhere hitting Melissa Goldners hand. Goldner was in the 6th grade when a fellow classmate threw the rock at her. This classmate was autisic and nonverbal, meaning he did not speak. Goldner was brought to a separate room while a teacher had this student apologize to her. But something about this interaction didn’t seem right. It was clear that this student did not know why he was apologizing or even how to apologize. From there on, Gouldner began to have  a special place in her heart for children  on the autism spectrum.

               “My parents always said I’d be a good teacher,” 

Gouldner said, but this wasn’t always what she saw herself doing. Goldner has always had a special connection to kids with disabilities. There was something there that she just understood.  This wasn’t her first pick regarding  where she wanted to go in life but  other people had seen it in her.

Goldner attended college at the University of Vermont  for undergraduate studies and Simmons for graduate school. She went into college hoping to pursue pre-veterinary medicine but then quickly changed her mind after seeing a chicken skeleton on her first day. From there animal behavior seemed to be the right route. For this major she had to take a childhood psychology class and after this inspiration, she decided to make one last final switch. Goldner later worked on a research project for kids with ADHD and her undergraduate thesis was about the impacts of having siblings with autism. 

Today, not only is Goldner a teacher but also a caring mother of two kids, both  of whom  go to Newbury Elementary School  and love it there. Having kids of her own does give her a deeper perspective to her job, Goldner said. 

“All teachers would tell you that parents are one of the hardest parts of the job,”

So being a parent herself, it is easier to put herself in the parents’ shoes, especially when having a hard conversation about a student or being put in a tough situation. This instills compassion and empathy to a whole new level when you know what it is like to have kids of your own. 

Although it is Goldners first year working at Pine Grove Elementary, it isn’t the first school she has worked in. But none of them compare to Pine Grove, and the Triton Regional District. . Goldners says that the colleagues here will always be looking out for each other and having one another’s backs. She is fitting in very well at Pine Grove according to Principle Nicole LaPerriere,

“She is a team player and brings positivity to the Pine Grove Family,” said LaPerriere.

When asked what impact Goldner wants to have on her students she said, “I had a student from my first year teaching and he had behavioral challenges and wouldn’t enter the school building. But now he is a computer programer and makes video games. Even if its one student that I can impact like that, that is what I want to leave behind in my teaching legacy”

Her favorite part of the job is the little things, she said, like the kids’ reactions to her words of encouragement. The connections happen so fast and Goldner loves to see the joy on students’  faces when their needs are met.