After 18 years in the field of Special Education, Melissa still has a passion and drive for kids, learning, and being part of a school community. She grew up in the rural town of Milton Washington and attended Western Washington University to earn a Bachelor of Arts, K-12 Special Education Degree. Melissa knew right from the start that special education was her true calling in life.
Melissa has an extensive amount of experience within the field of special education, including working in off-campus intensive behavior programs and focusing on the transition to "real life" with 18-21 year olds. She has designed and opened a program for students with intellectual disabilities and severe behavioral issues in one district and set up five alternative schools with special education in another. Melissa taught all of these vastly different students by leading with her heart, creating connections, and focusing on their successes and strengths.
Melissa teaches at Washington Middle School in Olympia where she has created and grown a peer mentor program where more than 50 students of all achievement levels enter her classroom daily to work with students with intellectual disabilities. Many of these students are in leadership roles where they are successful and feel proud of themselves for the first time in our educational system. This creates not just a calm, relaxing, and educationally focused learning environment, but a place where everyone can be themselves and be proud of all their achievements.
Melissa’s approach has yielded tremendous results for her students both socially and academically. Her students are connected to their peers and never sit alone at lunch. Melissa invites educators and other community members to share their expertise and passions in her classroom. She opens the world to her students and show them all the possibilities life holds for them.
“Every time I have the opportunity to visit Ms. Charette’s classroom I am struck by the warmth and engagement of everybody in the room, whether peer mentors, students with disabilities, paraeducators, or teachers,” writes parent Elizabeth Coker. “this positive classroom atmosphere is reflected in the behavior of all the students, who are generally attentive and focused on whatever task is going on. In all my years of experience with my son’s schooling, including several years with many of the same students in his current class, I have never seen a more supportive special education classroom environment.”
