Impact Report: Year-Ends 2021 and 2022

Jennifer Blanco

Jennifer Blanco, Skyline College alumna

“If you can’t go through the door, go left, go right, go under. Just get through that door” – Maria Elena Ayala, Jennifer Blanco’s mother

Some of Skyline College alumna Jennifer Blanco’s favorite mornings are those she spends volunteering at Belle Aire Elementary School. On her last visit, the schoolchildren enjoyed a visit with farm animals thanks to the California Dairy Council. She assisted the staff during the farm visit, as well as during an open house event held earlier in the week. Belle Aire is one of five elementary schools, along with a middle school in San Bruno, that make up the tiny district. Blanco is a trustee and a proud alumna and she considers it a privilege and an honor to support the schools in this way.

“I’m so passionate about my work on behalf of the schools because I live here,” exclaims Jennifer. “I am a product of these very schools. I attended a Title I school as a child. That’s a special federal designation when the majority of enrolled students are low-income. So, coming from that background, I know how important it is to have engaged parents and strong schools. As a parent, I care about the quality of our local schools. I care about the learning outcomes for these children.”

Jennifer traces her political career to a couple of key moments. The first was a decision to join the PTA as a young mother. She started attending school board meetings and was disappointed to see no one on the school board looked like her or the people attending her own children’s school. Yet, Jennifer believes the seeds were planted even earlier. She describes the impetus for her advocacy work beginning as a student government officer at Skyline College.

Elected to serve as the Activities Commissioner, Jennifer recalls traveling to Washington, D.C. with other Skyline college students as part of a contingent of student government officers from community colleges across the country. She got to learn how our government worked, and visited congress and the United States Supreme Court. It was an incredible experience. During her time in D.C., she also had a chance to meet Senator Diane Feinstein, House Democratic Leader, Representative Nancy Pelosi, and other representatives from the state of California. She took every meeting as an opportunity to advocate for childcare to be available at Skyline College and other community colleges. This was a deeply personal matter for her.

Prior to enrolling at Skyline College, Jennifer was a stay-at-home mom. She describes programs like EOPS (Extended Opportunity Programs and Services) and tutoring as critical to her degree completion. She said Skyline College gave her even more confidence in her abilities as a student and as a leader. She went on to earn an Associate of Arts degree and to this very day, she’s grateful for those who recognized the need for a variety of student supports, including childcare, that were available to her as a student.

Since graduating, Jennifer has worked hard to pay it forward in a variety of ways. She’s grateful for how her political and volunteer activity has allowed her to connect with different facets of the community, toward a common goal. She’s especially proud of initiatives like the Children’s Book Day, which is a collaborative effort that she founded in 2009. Championing the program and helping to build connections between the school district, the schools, and the public library to benefit students is an example of culturally diverse community engagement. Every year, all students in San Bruno public schools receive a free book to take home. Families of enrolled students are encouraged to read that book or another in the language that is spoken in their home most. As a daughter of immigrants from Cuba and El Salvador, Jennifer grew up in a multi-lingual household. While her parents both worked, they were very involved in her school and community. So, a program like this one and this type of acknowledgment of the language diversity within San Bruno as well as celebrating the importance of families in the student’s learning was important to her. It’s the type of cultural and community sensitivity she felt was missing when she started attending school district board meetings as the PTA president.

While Jennifer was elected to the San Bruno Park School District’s Board of Trustees in 2007, she doesn’t take her position for granted. She said one of the most important lessons she’s learned over the years is that she does not work alone. Her authority, and greatest influence, is as a Board of five individuals. She must collaborate to achieve their goals. She’s since been reelected three more times, for a total of four terms served as a district trustee. Jennifer considers being re-elected as the highest form of compliment she could receive from her community and a reflection of the trust they place in her. “Every day I think about how to keep earning that trust.”