Texas teacher’s legacy of kindness lives on after her death

By JAMIE STENGLE
Associated Press

DALLAS (AP) — Searching for a way to honor Texas teacher Zelene Blancas after her death late last year from COVID-19, a fellow educator over 2,000 miles away relied on the kindness of others to get a painted, heart-shaped rock to her school. It was a fitting tribute to the 35-year-old whose 2018 video of her bilingual class of first graders giving goodbye hugs charmed Twitter users. After almost five months on the road, being transported by a handful of people, the rock recently arrived at the El Paso elementary school where Blancas taught. Her former principal says she “just embodied kindness.”