[Noozhawk’s note: One in a series on the teachers who will be honored Nov. 6 at A Salute to Teachers, presented by Cox Communications and the Santa Barbara County Education Office.]
Ten educators will be recognized Nov. 6 at A Salute to Teachers, an event hosted by Cox Communications and the Santa Barbara County Education Office at the Music Academy of the West in Montecito.
Alisyn Blanton of Miguelito School in the Lompoc Unified School District has been named the 2022 Santa Barbara County Teacher of the Year.
Frank Koroshec of San Marcos High School in the Santa Barbara Unified School District will be honored as the 2021 Santa Barbara County Teacher of the Year.
Josie Coburn of Orcutt Academy High School in the Orcutt Union School District will be recognized as the 2022 Santa Barbara Bowl Performing Arts Teacher of the Year.
Elizabeth Caruso of Monroe School in the Santa Barbara Unified School District will be honored as the 2021 Santa Barbara Bowl Performing Arts Teacher of the Year.
The 2021-2022 distinguished mentors to be recognized are Lorena Armstrong of Mary Buren School in the Guadalupe Union School District, Riccardo Magni of Pioneer Valley High School in the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District, and Melissa Woods of Dos Pueblos High School in the Santa Barbara Unified School District.
The 2021-2022 distinguished new educators to be honored are Samantha Ayala of La Honda STEAM Academy in the Lompoc Unified School District, T.J. Berry of Santa Ynez Valley Union High School in the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District, and Christina Peña Eckert of Carpinteria Middle School in the Carpinteria Unified School District.
The eighth annual presentation will be livestreamed at 5 p.m. Nov. 6 at s.sbceo.org/salutestream.
In addition to Cox, Salute to Teachers is sponsored by Noozhawk, Fielding Graduate University, Montecito Bank & Trust, Santa Barbara Bowl, Santa Barbara City College and Southwest Airlines.
Noozhawk Q&A
Noozhawk: Why did you decide to become a teacher?
Alisyn Blanton: I decided to become a teacher after spending many years working with children in many different careers. My grandmother and great-grandmother were both educators and the decision to follow in that same path seemed natural.
Noozhawk: How long have you been teaching?
AB: Twenty years this year!
Noozhawk: What is your favorite subject or lesson plan to teach your students?
AB: One of my favorite subjects is math. I have a true passion for numbers and patterns. It has translated into a love for STEAM lessons and hands-on learning through the years. We build and create using the engineering and design cycle.
Noozhawk: What is your favorite part of being a teacher?
AB: The relationships built with my students, families and co-workers. These relationships enable us all to trust each other, take chances and grow. They inspire me daily and last long after they leave my room or school.
Noozhawk: What are the challenges of your job?
AB: The challenges of my job are not unique to me. As educators, we all work to balance the academic, social and emotional needs of 25-35 students daily. We have always been a profession that encompasses many roles and expectations in one, but these expectations are heightened in the face of a pandemic.
We had to completely change the format and face of our practice to a responsive digital platform in the COVID-19 pandemic, and now we are reshaping again. What does teaching in a full, physical classroom look like again after almost two years in technology-driven practices? What do our students need now?
I think the greatest challenge is truly recognizing students’ emotional needs, then trying to meet them — when the face and the pace of the classroom is constantly shifting. We are trying to close achievement gaps by focusing on the essential and that alone is a pace that may throw off our delicate balancing act of needs.
Truly caring for students’ mental health along the way is a new challenge that may not have been as pressing before.
Noozhawk: What are you most looking forward to this school year?
AB: The thing I am most excited for this year is to be able to have students work together safely in cooperative and collaborative groups. I enjoy project-based learning and missed the social interactions.
Second, I have to say it’s FIELD TRIPS! We already had a week-long trip to StarBase on Vandenberg Space Force Base. It was a stellar start to our year.
Noozhawk: Who are your mentors?
AB: I believe that we have mentors all around us if we are always willing to learn from others, veteran or first year.
However, my truest mentors who lit my path are:
» Diana Kirsch, who taught me that music can live in a child’s heart forever. I also learned that there are still teachers who play the piano. Something I may aspire to my entire life.
» Natalie Ricci, who taught a brand-new teacher in Lompoc that I would be loved and supported no matter where I went in the world. That love and laughter could do more than anything else.
Noozhawk: Who are the people in your life and work environment who support you every day?
AB: I am so fortunate to be supported by a myriad of amazing humans in my work and personal life. How many people work with their sister? Well, I do! My sister, Meggan Said Villegas, is my greatest support at school and home.
At home, I have a wonderful husband, Sam, and two teenagers. Garrett is 15 years old and attends Cabrillo High School. Lennon is 13 years old and is in eighth grade at Lakeview Junior High School in Santa Maria. We are a family that laughs together and plays together. Their wit and humor have kept me laughing on the hardest of days.
I have worked with amazing colleagues at Miguelito Elementary over the last 12 years, and I couldn’t possibly name them all or the ways they have supported me throughout my career, and especially these last few years as I have recovered from health issues.
Noozhawk: How does it feel to be honored as part of the Salute to Teachers?
AB: It feels a bit surreal. I consider it a privilege to be able to spotlight the amazing work that ALL teachers do in our county every day. I am not magical, perfect or sparkly. I have simply had the opportunity to highlight the amazing things we all do that make this profession so worthy of events like this. We are ALL teachers of the year.