By: Olivia Quercio ’21 and Caroline White ’21

One of Westborough High School’s newest additions is Spanish teacher Ms. Laplatney (or Jeannie, as her students call her). Although she has now put her roots down at WHS, she has a very interesting past! She is a world traveler, former government worker, and a foreign language teacher.

In her first year here, Jeannie has observed great student-teacher relationships, and she loves how students here can be open and honest with their teachers. She also expresses appreciation for the way we teach Spanish. One of the reasons why she came here was because of our World Language program.

She says that it’s the perfect atmosphere for outgoing teens who love the language; however, if you are shy you may have a hard time because in this program you must be able to make mistakes and recover.

In Westborough, Jeannie has begun to create bonds with her students. She says so far,  the most rewarding part of her job is seeing someone succeed and use Spanish in their everyday life. She explains that the hardest is when a student is struggling, whether it’s from the stress of school or personal problems.

Jeannie grew up in Connecticut where she attended a small regional high school. She was an exceptional student and participated in a wide range of extra curriculars.

“I was very into my after school activities,” she recalls. “I was very active as a student.”

She was also quite the athlete! She played basketball and ran track. Excitingly, when she was a freshman, her track team won the state championship.  Along with being a great athlete, Jeannie also did some traveling while in school. She ultimately studied abroad in Spain. She loved her experience and loved her host mother.

For graduate school, Jeannie packed her bags and moved down to south to attend the University of North Carolina. She loved UNC, but actually says that under the high pressure grad school brought, her hair changed from straight to curly due to stress. To this day, she still has curly hair. During her time at UNC she returned to Spain to study and describes her experience as “magical.”

Surprisingly, after college Jeannie worked in the government. They had a special program for college graduates based on students’ GPA which she participated in. It wasn’t what she wanted to do forever, but she took the job.

“I think that happens a lot where you get a job and then you keep going, making choices that lead you to the career you want,” Jeannie comments.

Later, Jeannie went back to school and earned her graduate degree in Spanish.  Luckily for us, she went on to work in multiple schools and colleges, and ended up in Westborough!

She says she had to try many techniques and different ways of teaching to be the teacher she is today.  She even blogs and makes podcasts to share her ideas on teaching and different techniques she’s picked up over the years.

During her time working in Spain, she also traveled to Sweden where she learned the Swedish language and was reminded of the difficulties in learning a new language. This helped her relate to her students.

Outside of school you can find Jeannie cooking fun meals like vegetable korma. She loves experimenting with new recipes. She also makes sure to spend time with friends and family; she even sets reminders on her phone to make sure she doesn’t forget. “I like to spend time with my friends, I’m very meticulous about that,” she says.

In 5-10 years, Jeannie sees herself continuing as a teacher and a blogger. She loves where she is; however, she explains that as a teacher you are constantly growing and adapting and she hopes to continue to do the same.

Jeannie explains that “you change as a teacher based on what you see working for your students and how they are acquiring the language.”

In Westborough, Jeannie continues to love the atmosphere and the excitement of being at a new school. She is adjusting well to her new environment and hopes to stay!