Essential Areas Team

  1. Home
  2. Essential Areas Team

Select a teacher's name to view bio:  

Primary:

Intermediate:

Ms. Tarnow

Loren Tarnow has been teaching elementary music in the Austin area since 2005. She graduated from Texas State University in 2009 with a MME with an Emphasis in Kodály Pedagogy and earned her Level IV Certification from the Austin ISD KCP in 2015. Loren serves as the Central Texas Region Co-Representative for the Kodály Educators of Texas. She received several years of training on SEL and is an SEL Ambassador through Austin ISD. Loren has presented at several conferences nationwide and has written articles with a focus on teaching in diverse communities, SEL for students and adults, and Responsive Classroom. Loren’s book, Sprouting Joy: Cultivating Social Emotional Learning in the Music Classroom, was released by Heritage Music Press in 2022.
​

Here are some of my FAVORITE things:

  • Color: Turquoise
  • Book: So many to choose from! The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Series
  • Food: Anything yummy and gluten free
  • Hobbies: cooking with my family, hiking, gardening, making music with others
  • Music: Anything that's good!
  • Sports Team: I don't really have one :)
  • Subject in school as a child: Reading and eventually music

Mr.  Tarnow

Mr.  Tarnow grew up in Temple TX.  As a child he played piano and added clarinet and saxophone in middle school.  Once he picked up a guitar in 6th grade, he was hooked and it has been hard to find him without a guitar since.

He has taught private lessons in the Austin area for around 15 years.  He has had the privilege of working with children and adults of all skill levels to help improve their guitar, piano, or bass guitar abilities.  Looking for a new challenge, he switched gears to elementary education in 2019 and has not looked back.

You can find him around town playing with various bands.  He enjoys playing various Jazz, Rock, Latin, and other styles.

Mrs. Smith

Hello, I'm Mrs. Smith.

​This will be my 10th year at Blazier and my 15th year in education. I have worked in many different educational positions: Pre-K teacher, Special Education TA, DL Kindergarten teacher, and Art teacher. I am married and have 3 daughters, one in high school, elementary, & daycare.

​I was born and raised in Austin and graduated from The University of Texas at Austin. In my spare time, you will find me baking or creating arts & crafts.  Here is my personal page: https://sites.google.com/view/artnene13/home


Favorite Things:
Color: Olive Green
Candy: Dark Chocolate
Drinks: Dr. Pepper, Iced Mocha Coffee
Snacks: Popcorn, dark chocolate almonds 
Sports Team: Texas Longhorns

Ms. Alexandra Cox

Hello! 

My name is Alexandra Cox, though you can call me "Ms. C". I am a new art teacher to AISD. I graduated from Emporia State University's Art Education program in 2020 and became a resident of the Austin arae shortly after. I am very excited to be here in Austin and have had fun learning the area and culture since I moved here!

I was born and raised in New Jersey, just west of NYC. My hobbies include drawing, painting, and spending down time relaxing with my cats.

Some of my favorite things include the color green, cats, the ocean, and most fruity candies or desserts.

I look forward to having a great year with all the Blazier students, staff, and families!

Mr. Ochoa

Hello, I’m Coach Ochoa.

This will be my third year teaching at Blazier. I am super excited to be returning to Blazier and I look forward to an amazing school year.

I graduated from Texas State University with a bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sports Science. I am a product of AISD schools as I’ve attended Sunset Valley Elementary, Covington Middle School, and Crockett High School. My third grade teacher at Sunset Valley Elementary was actually Ms. Pena who is now our amazing principal here at Blazier.

In addition to being a PE teacher at Blazier, I am also a football coach at Crockett High School. I love all sports but I really enjoy watching football and basketball. And yes, GO COWBOYS.

Mr. Olinger

Hello, I’m Mr. Olinger

This will be my first year at Blazier Elementary and my first-year teaching. I have spent the last two years as a baseball scout working for Perfect Game USA and traveling across the United State and Puerto Rico.

I graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a Sports and Exercise Science degree with a K-12 Physical Education Licensure. I have spent many hours in the classroom at the Elementary level for my degree. I was born and raised in Longmont, Colorado but have also spent time living in Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia. In my free time I enjoy going to sporting events and doing anything active outside.

Favorite Things:
Color: Navy Blue
Candy: Skittles/Twix
Snack: Trail Mix
Drink: Lemonade
Sports Team: Georgia Bulldogs

Mr. Alaniz

Hello everyone!

I am extremely excited to join Blazier Primary and Austin ISD for the 2022-2023 school year. My name is Jacob Alaniz, and I was born and raised in the small, quiet city of Mission, Texas down in the Rio Grande Valley. I graduated from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. I am currently in my final semester of Grad School and will be graduating this year with my Master of Science in Kinesiology. Health and Human Performance has been a passion of mine for many years, and I want to continue to help everyone of all ages live a healthier, and happier lifestyle.

Although this will be my first year with Austin ISD, this will be my fifth year in public education. For the past three years, I worked at La Joya High School as a content mastery teaching assistant, and I worked one year at Mission Collegiate High School as an assistant physical education coach. 

When I am not at work, you can find me going for hikes/walks with my 8-year-old basset hound named Apollo. I also enjoy running, playing golf, and watching my favorite sport on the weekends, which is baseball. I’m looking forward to having a great and wonderful 2022-2023 school year with the Blue Jay Family!

Best in Health,

Jacob Alaniz

Mr. Hien

Hello Blue Jays! I am your 3rd-5th grade Physical Education Teacher, and I am excited to be in my second year with Blazier!

I received my Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from The University of Texas at San Antonio. A few years later, I graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Master in Education. 

During my time at UT, I discovered the joy of partner dancing for the first time in my life. My training included ballroom, swing, country, and latin. Currently, I have two national championship titles for partner dancing and one world championship title for line dance. I have also performed salsa and bachata as a member of the Texas Latin Dance Performance Team. One of my goal is to popularize dance through physical education. I hope to improve children's fitness by increasing their knowledge and participation in various types of physical activities.

I was certified by the American College of Sports Medicine as a personal trainer for seven years, and my involvement in the fitness industry helped develop my passion for being physically active. It gives me great joy to work with kids and teach others about fitness. I believe strongly in teamwork, supporting one another, and doing your absolute best. It is perfectly okay to struggle while learning something new! I promise you that we will work together to overcome both personal and team challenges. We will have lots of fun, and I hope you will walk away feeling proud of what you have learned. 

Here are some of my FAVORITE things:

  • Color: Blue
  • Book: Frankenstein
  • Food: Vietnamese Street Food
  • Hobbies: Dance, Video Games, Working Out
  • Music: Pop/V-Pop/R&B/Hip-Hop/Country
  • Subject in school as a child: PE

Ms. Clarke

Hello! My name is Debra Clarke and I have been drawn to drawing from the moment I could hold a pen. Being the very introverted youngest of 5 sisters, Art has always been a huge part of my life. I strongly believe that Art has the ability to unlock parts of the brain that help us process things that words and numbers just cannot, as well as increase problem solving abilities and improve fine motor skills. My why of being an Art Teacher for the last 18 years is to share those gifts with my students. I am excited to be a part of your child’s journey of growing their ingenuity and watching as they surprise themselves with the amazing fruits of their imaginations.
A proud Pioneer, I graduated from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, TX. My hobbies include culinary arts, running, yoga, being in nature, reading, crossword puzzles, relaxing at home or traveling whenever I can.

Favorites:

  • Color – Sage
  • Snacks – Salty (mixed nuts, jerky)
  • Drinks – Coffee or Tea
  • Sports Team – Houston Texans, I suppose, if I had to choose.

Ms. Carter

Hello All! This will be my fourth year teaching and my second year at Blazier. I graduated from Texas State University in December 2016 with a degree in Exercise Sports Science and a minor in History. I am so happy to be apart of the Blazier community and I love  working with all of your young ones! 


​Here are some of my FAVORITE things:

  • Color: Orange 
  • Book/Author: White Oleander by Janet Fitch and any book by Gillian Flynn.
  • Favorite Movie: Coco and SING
  • Food: Anything PASTA! 
  • Hobbies: I enjoy playing all kinds of sports and reading books.
  • Music: I LOVE all music but Hip-Hop and R&B is my favorite!
  • Favorite Sport: Basketball is my favorite sport to play as well as watch.
  • Subject in school as a child: ​PE was my favorite class because I enjoy playing sports so much. History was another favorite of mine. 

Ms. Sanchez

Howdy! 
I am Ms. Sanchez and This will be my first year at Blazier intermediate. I graduated from Texas Tech and Texas State University with degrees in music education . I have worked with a variety of ensembles such as band, mariachi, orchestra, and jazz. 

When I'm not playing with the mariachi or salsa groups I like to play animal crossing and paint. 

I look forward to making music with y'all! 

Favorite things:

 

  • Color: Glitter 
  • Candy: Trolli sour worms and Mazapans 
  • Drinks: Dr. Pepper 
  • Snacks: Salsa garden SunChips 
  • Sports team: Texas Tech and Kansas Chiefs 

Mr. Baird

Joseph Baird is in his nineteenth year a music educator.  Before joining the Blazier Blue Jays, Mr. Baird served as the Head Band Director at Mendez Middle School.  He was also the Mariachi Director at Lehman High school from 2014-2020 and Orchestra/Mariachi Director at Crockett High School from 2004-2014.  Mr. Baird loves spending time with his family and coaching baseball.  

Favorite things:

 

  • Cafe Latte
  • Green tea
  • snickers