New teacher, familiar face

A new, but familiar face greeted Bloomfield Elementary School’s fifth graders when they returned to classes Thursday.

Nadia Hardman was at the head of the classroom, beginning the first year of her teaching career. But she is no stranger to the school.

A 2022 Jay County High School graduate, Hardman completed her student teaching through Indiana State University last fall in Giles Laux’s fifth grade classroom at Bloomfield.

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The end of the 2024-25 school year was an emotional roller coaster for Bloomfield’s fifth graders, other students and staff.

A medical emergency shocked the entire Bloomfield school community in late April, when Laux collapsed because of a cardiac arrest as he attempted to re-enter the building at the end of an extra recess. There was a joyful celebration a week later, when Laux returned to the school for the presentation of a commendation.

Quick action from staff, including chest compressions by school nurse Whitney Bruggeman, had saved his life. He would not be able to return to the classroom for the year, but was set for surgery to repair a heart valve problem that had led to his cardiac arrest. He expected to be back in front of his students in August.

Laux died May 24, a day after the final day of classes for Jay Schools, at the age of 60 from complications of his surgery.

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As Hardman prepares for her first year as an educator, she is passionate about the role that she will play in her students’ lives. 

“I want to be the teacher that I never had,” Hardman said, which is why she aims to prioritize building mutual trust in student-teacher relationships.

Fifth grade is a pivotal point in maturity for students, she said, and Hardman is working to be prepared to balance giving them independence to think for themselves while also being a support system and someone they can come to.

Her ultimate goal for her first cohort of students is to see them improve from the time they enter her classroom to the time they are promoted to sixth grade, whether it be in their standardized test scores, their confidence or their social skills.

Her personal goal is to gain her footing as an educator and establish what works best for her. 

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There is more to Hardman’s first year at the helm of a classroom than the typical nerves that any teacher would face in beginning their career.

Hardman is stepping into the role that opened when Laux died less than three months ago.

Before they worked alongside each other in the classroom, Laux and Hardman already had a relationship established — he was her soccer coach for four years while she was in high school. When Hardman sent her student teaching application to Bloomfield, Laux immediately informed principal Ben Dues that he wanted her in his classroom.

He had never hosted a student teacher before.

“I remember getting a message from Giles, — ‘Just so you know, you’re going to be in my classroom next year!’” said Hardman, “which I was really looking forward to, since I already knew him and was comfortable with him and he had served as a mentor to me in the past during soccer.”

When Laux was forced from his classroom following the cardiac arrest in April, Dues called on Hardman to finish out the year.

When the fifth grade teaching job was posted for applications following his death, Dues reached out to Hardman again, asking if she would be willing to come in and discuss the position.

Staff rallied behind Hardman, offering support and resources before her hiring was even official. She had planned on starting her career in Blackford County, but she could not pass up the opportunity to continue working at Bloomfield with the community that she had built amongst students and faculty.

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During their time together last fall, Laux taught Hardman a lot about what type of teacher she hopes to be.

Going into her first year, she plans to incorporate a substantial amount of what she learned from Laux, such as incorporating life lessons into her standardized lesson plans. 

Not only is she seeking to carry on his classroom values, but she is also embracing his extracurricular positions — student council advisor, Just Say No advisor and head of the intramural after-school soccer program.

Hardman started her first day in the classroom Thursday with a moment of silence in remembrance of Laux — a symbolic moment honoring the teacher she was while beginning her professional journey toward becoming the teacher she hopes to be.