Coeur d'Alene Charter teacher a Fulbright U.S. Scholar
Her English is impeccable, her French is très bien and after spending 10 months in Norway, her Norwegian is sure to be veldig bra.
Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy English and French teacher Lynda LeBlanc, who also served as the chair of the school's foreign language department, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to serve as the Østfold Roving Scholar to Norway for the 2024-25 academic year. She, her husband and their West Highland terrier will uproot from Coeur d'Alene to live in the small town of Halden, just southeast of the country's capital of Oslo.
"The last time I lived abroad, I was 25 and I was an English teacher in the Burgundy region (of France)," LeBlanc said Thursday. "It's been a while since I lived abroad. I'm ready for the adventure."
In Norway, LeBlanc will share American literature and culture as she works with students. She will visit lower- and upper-secondary schools in the region, contribute to the work of the Norwegian Centre for Foreign Languages in Education and serve as a guest lecturer for the teacher education program at Østfold University College.
LeBlanc developed Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy’s French program and taught seventh grade English.
“Dr. LeBlanc has a long history at the academy of not just teaching the French language and culture, but also fostering personal growth and creating world citizens," Charter Principal Dan Nicklay said in the Fulbright announcement. "We are excited for her as she embarks on this new and well-deserved adventure.”
This is LeBlanc's second time traveling abroad with a Fulbright program. Last year, she and a cohort of teachers went to India and visited different schools in New Delhi.
She said while the application process and preparation for the Fulbright Teacher program is rigorous, the Fulbright Scholar program is even more so.
“It is one of the greatest honors in education," she said, adding that she spent six months preparing her application for the roving scholar program.
The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers more than 400 awards in over 135 countries for U.S. citizens to participate in professional, research and teaching projects around the globe.
"I'll be kind of like a teacher at Charter, except I will be taking my work on the road," LeBlanc said.
LeBlanc has taught for more than 30 years. She taught in her native Louisiana, France, Switzerland and Spokane before landing at Charter 15 years ago.
"As Idaho doesn’t offer sabbaticals, I left my position at Charter and I will be open to where I might teach when I return," she said.
Although well-traveled, LeBlanc has never been to the Scandinavian countries.
"I'm the fourth scholar to be at this university," LeBlanc said. "I spoke with two of my predecessors and they didn’t want to leave."
She said she is looking forward to working in a country that is recognized for its high standards of education.
"I feel like I have so much to learn,” she said.
She said she hopes this experience will help open communication between her students from Norway and her Charter students back home.
"I do plan on building pen pals between students at Charter and my Norwegian students," she said. "I want to keep the connection going."
LeBlanc