Bridget E. Boucher

Francis J. Varieur Elementary School
Pawtucket School Department
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
[email protected]

Drawing on years of experience as a teacher and an educator, Bridget Boucher takes a holistic approach to ensuring a safe and supportive school environment for her students. Strong relationships have been the foundation of her leadership at Francis J. Varieur Elementary School, where she has been principal for six years. During her tenure, the school has gone from having the lowest teacher attendance to the highest, evidence of a staff that feels valued and motivated by a sense of shared ownership of the school’s success. Today, Varieur is a place that never settles for the status quo and always reaches for better outcomes for students. Boucher led a successful effort to mainstream all Special Education students at Varieur, progressively integrating students into itinerant and eventually core classrooms. This is one reflection of Boucher’s commitment to breaking isolation and ensuring students can thrive alongside their peers. She also led an effort to transform the school’s approach to discipline away from removing students from the classroom, instead leveraging disruptions as relationship-building opportunities. Positive behavior and performance are also celebrated by awarding “coins” for use in the book vending machine that Boucher introduced to cultivate and incentivize a lifelong love of reading. Boucher holds a B.A. in Education from Notre Dame College and two master’s degrees from Providence College–one in Special Education and Special Education Administration and the other in Educational Leadership.