Mrs. Basalo is not new to Jefferson.  She came in mid year, but we did not get a chance to do a staff spotlight.  Welcome Mrs. Basalo to the team!

My journey into teaching began with exploratory teaching at Warsaw Community High School — and I fell in love with it! I went on to earn my bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Spanish Education from Grace College in 2003. I completed my student teaching right here at Jefferson, and also in Argentina — both incredibly meaningful experiences that helped shape my perspective as an educator. Most recently, I earned my master’s degree in Teaching English Learners from the American College of Education in 2024.

After graduating college, I took a purposeful step away from the classroom to support my new husband as he navigated culture shock. That season led me into banking for several years, followed by several more focused on raising our two children.  Once both kids were in school, I returned to education as a paraprofessional for the DLI program at Eisenhower during its very first year — an experience that reignited my love for teaching and inspired me to renew my license.  In 2017, I returned to the classroom full time at Presby Preschool. Later, I taught Life Skills with the Bowen Center, and during the COVID pandemic, I transitioned to online teaching. For the past three years, I’ve served virtually as the ML Coordinator through the Madison-Grant School District.  Now, being back in the classroom at Jefferson truly feels like coming home.

My husband, Diego, and I will be celebrating 22 years of marriage this August! We met in 2001 when I studied abroad in Buenos Aires — he’s actually the reason I decided to student teach in Argentina, which ended up shaping so much of my journey.

We have two teenage children, and we speak both English and Spanish at home. Gaby is 18 and just graduated from Lakeland Christian Academy, and Veronica is 15 and heading into her sophomore year at LCA this fall. If you’ve been to Wagon Wheel Theater in recent years, you might’ve seen them on stage in the WWJR shows — Wagon Wheel has been such a blessing to our family, and it’s been pure joy watching them grow in that space.

I’m passionate about working with multilingual students because I’ve lived their journey — from attending school in Singapore as a child to studying abroad in Argentina, I know firsthand the challenges and beauty of learning in a new language. There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing students grow in confidence and no longer need language support — I feel honored to walk that path with them and provide the kind of support I once needed myself.