FOX 9 Top Teacher: Alicia Blaz of Rosemount High School

ROSEMOUNT, Minn. (FOX 9) - It's the time of year when FOX 9 honors nine outstanding teachers for the FOX 9 Top Teacher Award. This year, our station is recognizing the teachers virtually.

Rosemount High School teacher Alicia Blaz has been teaching for 18 years and is currently one of the special education leads at the school.  

Blaz works with a lot of seniors and says she loves working with students of all ability levels, but what sets her apart is she volunteers to tutor students before and after school. 

One of Mrs. Blaz’s former students is now a Marine, who uses her lessons to teach young Marines how to succeed. Mrs. Blaz says her secret is finding ways to connect with her students.

“You know I work to build trust,” said Blaz. “I work to restore their confidence and help them to see their potential beyond where they are sitting at now. I work on teaching grit, compassion, empathy and I think once that’s done and once that trust is built and that relationship is there, I can set the bar higher than maybe it’s ever been set. And they’ll either work to reach it, or they’ll be more willing to meet me half way.”

Mrs. Blaz is also an assistant coach with the girls' hockey program.

As a FOX 9 Top Teacher, Blaz gets a special award and Rosemount High School gets a $1,000 from Royal Credit Union to be used for classroom supplies.