Loxahatchee Groves teacher ‘gets gratification from the kids’

For Alexandra Blanco, it’s about the kids.

She’s been teaching for seven years at Loxahatchee Groves Elementary School in Loxahatchee in an environment she describes as almost a small town kind of school. We work together as a team.

Teamwork is part of how Blanco was the runner-up as the Hispanic Teacher of the Year in Palm Beach County.

Blanco’s kids encompass a variety of behavior problems, stemming from issues such as child abuse and parental drug use. Some of her kids are high-functioning Asperger’s children with extreme anxiety, with behavior that ranges from biting and spitting to obsessive-compulsion.

They’re all type A’s, she said, so at first, it’s butting heads, but nobody’s a victim. Everybody has a strong temperament, and they all gradually realize that they’re strong children.

Blanco is 31, the child of immigrant parents from Venezuela, both of whom were teachers. She attended Florida Atlantic University, and noticed pre-kindergarten programs for kids with autism, which led her to a profession.

I get my gratification from the kids, she said. One of my biggest success stories I had for three years. She just left last year. When she got here, she didn’t talk, just babbled. She would eat pennies and napkins, anything she wasn’t supposed to eat. And she had high anxiety and was a screamer.

That same child was accepted into a bilingual program at North Grade Elementary School in Lake Worth, and she only missed the gifted IQ range by a few points.

She was a blonde, blue-eyed girl, and when she left, she told me she was going to be brown like me, Blanco said.

It’s stories like that keep you going. You make a difference in the family, the kids, in life.

What’s your most humbling moment?

‘I had a kid the last couple of years who had lost his father and couldn’t talk about it. He finally came to the point of being able to tell me that he had a lot of anger about that. When he came to that point and told me, I knew he’d be OK.’

What’s your favorite iPod song?

Anything by Tenth Avenue North, a Christian group.

What’s your favorite junk food?

Chocolate.

What’s the best advice you ever received?

‘My dad told me, “Never stop learning.” ‘

What’s your proudest accomplishment?

‘A little girl told me she wanted to be brown like me. Teaching a kid to love school.’

Sully’s Court: A look at Saturday’s national semifinals

A look at Saturday’s national semifinals:

Butler (27-9) vs. Virginia Commonwealth (28-11)

It’s the mid-major national championship. VCU has shocked opponents early with high intensity. The Rams play hard and they’ve been playing both ends of the court (not something they always did while losing 11 games, including ones to Georgia State and Northeastern). The formula won’t change. At this point, this opponent should be ready. Butler plays tremendous defense and will aim to keep this game under a controlled pace. They’ve been able to succeed at that in the tournament. Butler’s vulnerability is under the basket, but VCU’s big guys will not pose that much of a challenge for the hard-working Matt Howard and Andrew Smith. Coach Brad Stevens will eventually stick Ronald Norad (who comes off the bench) on VCU’s mercurial point guard Joey Rodriquez. Pace will dictate the winner and Butler has shown it can dictate pace.

Kentucky (29-8) vs. Connecticut 30-9)
Both these teams are incredibly young. Three of Kentucky’s most important players — Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones, and Doron Lamb — are freshmen. UConn also relies heavily on three freshmen — Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier, and Roscoe Smith. Kentucky also gets solid and sometimes very clutch play from senior center Josh Harrellson and junior forwards Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins. What’s different is UConn’s first-team All-American guard Kemba Walker. He will be the best player on the court. How Coach Cal defends him will have a big bearing on the result. The reason UConn is in the Final Four is Walker’s teammates — especially Lamb — have improved tremendously in the last month. But Coach Cal’s goal should still be containing Walker on offense. If he succeeds, he’ll advance to the national championship game. If he fails, he loses to a hated rival, Jim Calhoun.

Coalition’s ‘free schools’ planning extended academic year

The Government’s flagship “free schools” will be given new powers to shake-up the academic year by axing traditional holidays and staging booster lessons outside the normal timetable, it emerged.

Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, said the plans would help working parents and provide extra tuition for children falling behind.

In a speech on Monday, he praised one school in Norwich that is proposing to open for six days a week for 51 weeks of the year. Others are planning to keep pupils in school until at least 5pm or stage regular weekend lessons.

The disclosure came as it emerged some 281 bids have been made to run free schools since March. Of those, it is believed 100 will open next year.

Free schools are state-funded institutions run by parents, teachers’ groups, private companies, religious organisations and charities.

Related Articles

• Hundreds of groups bidding to run ‘free schools’, says Gove

  20 Jun 2011

• Michael Gove: academies will be norm in England

  27 May 2010

• Schools win right to turn away middle class children

  27 May 2011

• Michael Gove’s silent revolution

  24 May 2011

• Teaching assistants ‘fail to improve school results’

  26 May 2011

• Corporal punishment around the world

  26 May 2011

On Monday, it emerged that Sir Michael Wilshaw, the Coalition’s favourite head teacher and principal of Mossbourne Academy in Hackney, is to open his own free school in the south of the deprived London borough.

With complete freedom from local authority control, the schools can rewrite the curriculum, deviate from national rules on staff pay and set their own admissions.

Mr Gove said others would also use their freedom to alter the length of the school day and academic years.

“Free schools offer a genuine alternative and they have the freedom to be different; like the Norwich Free School, which will integrate high-quality education and child care year-round,” he said.

“The school will be sited right in the heart of Norwich so that working parents can make full use of the affordable extended school provision, which will be available on the school premises for six days each week, 51 weeks of the year.”

The school – being opened by a group of teachers and working parents in September – says it will run an “extended service” paid for by families, before and after school. The only time it will be closed is for a week at Christmas and bank holidays.

The school is also planning to split the year into six terms, with a two-week break between each and four weeks off in August.

The West London Free School, spearheaded by writer Toby Young, which is also due to open in September, says it expects pupils to stay in school, or at music and drama clubs until 5pm between Monday and Friday.

Mossbourne Academy, which was opened under the last Labour Government, already operates a longer school day and opens at weekends.

Speaking at the Policy Exchange conference, Sir Michael said the school had helped to raise standards by having the children stay in school until “six, seven or eight in the evening”.

Often they have their evening meal at school, he added.

A Government spokesman said: “Free schools and academies can open year-round if they want to. They can change the school day, the length of the school term however much they want.”

Engineering camp helps recruit high school girls

Two NASA engineers will speak at the Girls Summer Engineering Experience (Girls SEE) at California State University, Fresno, to help high school girls entering Grades 10-12 learn about opportunities in engineering and construction management and education and careers.

Stacia Long and Powtawche Williams Valerino from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena will speak at 8:30 a.m. June 27 about benefits and opportunities available in engineering fields. Girls SEE runs 8 a.m.-5 p.m. June 27-July 1.

Long, a mission design engineer, helped create a gravitational map of the moon as part of NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory. Valerino, a maneuver analyst, is a member of the Flight Path Control Group and Cassini Navigation Team studying Saturn.

“Studies show that girls are taking as many math classes as men and their test scores are exceeding those of their male counterparts,” said Nell Papavasiliou, the Valley Industry Partnership director for the Lyles College of Engineering and a Girls SEE organizer. However, just 17 percent of those pursuing engineering degrees nationwide are females.

“Engineering and construction management are professions that provide intellectual stimulation, financial independence and job security as well as excellent foundations on which to pursue medical, law or advanced business degrees,” added Papavasiliou.

“Through hands-on activities, Girls SEE provides the opportunity to explore these fields and connect with university professors and industry professionals while still in high school,” she said.

The camp is hosted by faculty in the Lyles College to showcase its programs in electrical, civil, computer, geomatics and mechanical engineering and construction management. Besides the activities on campus in daily sessions, participants will tour the Grundfos pump-manufacturing plant in Fresno and visit the Clovis Water Reuse Facility.

The day camp fee is $250, which includes lunch, snacks, materials and field trips. Students who stay on campus at the University Courtyard residence halls pay $750 for the camp, breakfast and dinner, and evening activities. Scholarships are available for day campers.

HERALD SPOTLIGHT: Trevon Coley

Having the opportunity to watch many of the athletes in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties when they begin playing football at the youth football level, the Miami Herald will continue to shine the spotlight on many athletes during the pre-spring, spring and summer.

With the chance to see the athletes away from the football field as well, we can bring you up close and personal with some of the top prospects in the nation – right here in our own backyard.

Don’t forget that the exposure continues on FACEBOOK (Herald Recruiting) and via

PLAYER: Trevon Coley 
YEAR: 2012
 SCHOOL: Miramar 
CITY: Miramar
 POSITION: DE
 HEIGHT: 6-2
 WEIGHT: 230 HEAD FOOTBALL COACH: Damon Cogdell

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: If you’ve been fortunate enough to catch some off-season events, especially line camps and clinics, here is a player who has really blown up as far as ability and exposure.

Has truly improved over the last few months as he returned to his roots of hanging with the “family” who can be considered responsible for getting him to the level he’s at now – the offensive line!

Considered to be one of the best in the state of Florida, Miramar’s offensive line, which Coley used to be a part of, has gotten him tougher and mentally ready to compete against anyone, and this standout athlete has responded.

On the rise as a prospect to keep a major eye on, Coley’s strength, quickness and ability to come off the ball much faster than his opponent can be traced back to the work he continues to do with the offensive line, which he refers to as his “family!”

Pushing Your Limits at the Folk School

Woodturning instructor, Alan Leland, tells us why he loves teaching at the Folk School:

One of my favorite things about teaching at the Folk School is watching the students grow and stretch their boundaries not just artistically but in all aspects of their lives. I will never forget the time one of our students managed to get my assistant, Melissa, up to join in the Contra dancing- something Melissa would never do on her own. It was such a surprise.

Then of course there is all the laughter that seems to follow me around when I am at the Folk School, some created by me, and some just because the students have loosened up and feel comfortable sharing their thoughts. To me, both as a student and an instructor, it is all about growing and stretching yourself, pushing your limits, and discovering the multitude of things that you can do with the proper guidance and freedom. Creativity is such an exhilarating and fulfilling thing and to see the students grow and the smiles on their exhausted faces is just overwhelming at times.

Many students who have never tried to do anything creative discover just how creative they can be and soon get swept up in the magic of it all. It never ceases to amaze me when “show and tell” comes around and we get to see and share the week’s work. It all looks so professionally done and is such a wonder to see.

I must not forget that the Folk School experience is not just about learning a new craft, it is about getting to know each other, making new friends, and most of all, having an enjoyable, unforgettable, and sometimes life changing experience.