Sra. Blanca BadilloGarcia

Sra. Blanca Badillo joins Westwood’s language community as the newest Spanish teacher, ready to make positive and lasting impacts on students’ lives.

Talking to her students with a genuine smile and enthusiastic optimism, Sra. Blanca Badillo’s demeanor carries an evergreen aura of welcome and reliable comfort, perfectly encapsulating her vibrant personality.

Sra. Badillo, who has known from an early age that she wanted to teach Spanish, continues fulfilling her dream for the sixth year, as she joins Westwood’s Language Department as a Spanish 1 and Advanced Spanish 4 teacher. 

“I loved school since I was very, very young,” Sra. Badillo said. “I’m the oldest of five, so growing up with a large family, I was able to kind of develop that maternal teacher persona. I think it was middle school for me, where I really realized I want to teach Spanish.”

As a native speaker, Sra. Badillo’s main motivation for teaching Spanish is the outlet it provides her, through which she’s able to share, express, and spread awareness and understanding of her roots and culture.

“I thought it was cool that people that are non-native speakers of Spanish were teaching Spanish, and I thought that was inspiring when it doesn’t even have to be your native language for you to be a teacher of that language,” Sra. Badillo said. “I was born in Mexico, and I lived there till I was nine. For me, it’s a huge way to share my culture. It’s not an abstract thought that I’m sharing. It’s how I grew up.”

Sra. Badillo is not one to back down from a challenge, and one of her favorite things about teaching highlights this characteristic of hers. She enjoys working with students who tell her right off the bat when they believe they’re not good at something or think they can’t do it, because it enables her to help them improve. 

“They’ll just tell me like ‘I can’t do it,’ so for me it’s almost like a challenge to where it’s like, ‘Oh, you think you can’t do it? Let’s show you that you can,’” Sra. Badillo said. “And I think it’s super cool when I hear their stories like, ‘I was able to greet this and that person.’ I think it’s awesome for them to see and discover how this class goes beyond just little quizzes and these four walls. It has meaning outside of here.”

Sra. Badillo began her six-year journey of teaching at Grisham Middle School, where she taught for three years before moving on to Cedar Valley Middle School for a year. Finally, Sra. Badillo joined Westwood’s staff, where she held the position of testing coordinator last year.

“I learned a lot [as a testing coordinator] and it was a great, great experience,” Sra. Badillo said. “But, the whole year I just missed my students. I missed being in my classroom with the kids.”

Her decision to join the world languages staff at Westwood as the newest Spanish teacher was heavily motivated by the opportunity to teach her middle school students again, most of whom are currently in their senior year. Seeing them finish off their scholastic journey and supporting them through events such as graduation are fruitful experiences for Sra. Badillo. 

“​​They’re my first kids,” Sra. Badillo said. “So for me, it’s super unique that I get to see all of them and kind of compare, like ‘do you remember when you were in sixth grade or seventh grade?’ or ‘do you remember when you wore that one jacket?’ and they’re like, ‘oh, don’t remind me.’ I think it’s a beautiful, beautiful thing.”

Another reason Sra. Badillo chose to transition to teaching at Westwood was her own schooling here, an experience which she thoroughly enjoyed. Her belief that her colleagues are, as she describes, some of the best in the district, has roots in the classes she took, namely those with Sra. Milybett Llanos-Gremillion as her teacher. 

“I remember Sra. Llanos, she was actually a teacher here while I was at Westwood,” Sra. Badillo said. “And I remember everyone looked up to her as like an inspiration, so coming back here as her colleague has been so inspiring.” 

Although her transition from a testing coordinator to a Spanish teacher has been made smooth by the supportive language community at Westwood, Sra. Badillo holds a different appreciation for the administrative team.

“When you’re in that role [of a testing coordinator], you work with the administrative team so closely and you get to see them through a different lens than you do as a teacher,” Sra. Badillo said. “I think it’s awesome how much they are dedicated to the school.”

Outside of school, Sra. Badillo maintains a lively routine and ensures that she dedicates time to spend with her 4-year-old daughter and her sisters. She also participates in countless hobbies, such as hiking, visiting new coffee shops, and traveling, all of which she does with her family.

“[My daughter’s] four, so my senior students, I was pregnant [the] year that they were my students [in middle school],” Sra. Badillo said. “So they’re like, ‘Wait, how old is she now?’ And I’m like, ‘She’s four, she’s supposed to be five.’ And they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I remember when you were pregnant with her.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, time flies.’”

Her connection and relationships with her community and students remain one of the most important things to her.

“I’m looking forward to just kind of really getting my footing into what teaching in high school looks like,” Sra. Badillo said. “[And] I think so far so good.”