My name is Valerie Balch Blaske. I was born and raised here in Hartselle and come from a family of educators. Both of my parents, Bob and Henrietta Balch, were educators and are the reasons I chose this career path. I attended school starting at Crestline, followed by Hartselle Junior High and Hartselle High School. After graduating from high school, I attended Calhoun Community College and Athens State University, where I earned a double major in Elementary and Early Childhood Education. I began my teaching career at Danville-Neel Elementary. I spent three years there teaching third grade and earned my Masters’ degree in Elementary Education in 2002. Also in 2002, I married my husband, Mark, and we moved to Minnesota….his home state! We lived there for three years, and while there, I taught fourth and fifth grades. In 2005, we moved back to Alabama, and I started teaching third grade at Eva Elementary. I spent the next 15 years there, teaching first through fifth grades. In 2022, I received my Masters’ degree in School Counseling and moved to Crestline as the School Counselor.

Mark and I have two sons, Jack (18) and Owen (14). Both boys attend school in Hartselle; Jack is a senior this year, and Owen is an 8th grader. We always seem to be on the run, but we love every minute of it!!

I am thrilled to be able to say that I am part of the Crestline family!