‘This is my passion’: Arthur Ashe’s Glenda Baylis named semifinalist for state Principal of the Year award
6th May 2024 · 0 Comments
By Minh Ha
Contributing Writer
(Veritenews.org) — It was early on in the pandemic when Catalian Colbert’s son, then 10-year-old Steven Williams, wanted to switch schools. Colbert said Williams had been in a French Immersion School since kindergarten and could speak and write in French much better than he could in English.
Colbert’s husband had attended Bienville Elementary, which, prior to Hurricane Katrina, was located at the same site where Arthur Ashe Charter School stands today. So, the family decided to enroll Steven there. At first, Colbert said she was worried about the transition, but felt immediately reassured after her phone call with the school’s middle school principal, Glenda Baylis, who reached out to welcome them.
Baylis is one of the 24 semifinalists for this year’s Louisiana Department of Education’s Principal of the Year award. Out of that list, she’s the only principal in Orleans Parish and the first one from the NOLA Public Schools district to have advanced into this round since 2022.
Colbert said Baylis deserves it. Despite his trouble with reading when he started at the new school in August 2020, Colbert said that he scored mastery on his Louisiana Educational Assessment Program English test last year.
“To see that growth in my son – this again speaks to her leadership,” she said of Baylis. “I feel when I drop my kids off at Ashe, I’m dropping them off to a second mom.”
Arthur Ashe, located in Gentilly, is a K-8 school with almost 800 students, about half of whom are in Baylis’ middle school. Arthur Ashe has a significant number of special education students, and about half of its students receive learning accommodations. Baylis said. About 91 percent of Arthur Ashe students are considered economically disadvantaged, and 99 percent of them are students of color.
The news of Baylis’ nomination for the honor came as no surprise to the students and teachers at the school. Faculty members who spoke to Verite News all described her as fair, honest and compassionate. One student, 7th grader Myriah McBride, even said that Baylis is “perfect.”
Baylis started working at Arthur Ashe in 2020, bringing with her more than 20 years of experience in education.
She was born in Alabama but moved to New Orleans when she was two, attending New Orleans public schools.
Baylis said she has never done anything else but teaching. Her grandfather, who had to drop out of school, had always wanted her to be a teacher, she said. But it was teaching her younger cousins the things she had learned from school and the joy she felt doing so that pushed her to become an educator herself.
After graduating from Southern University at New Orleans, Baylis got her first teaching job at her old alma mater, the since-closed Dr. Charles Drew Elementary, in 1997. Baylis later worked as a grade-level chair and instructional coach at several other schools, including Clancy Maggiore Elementary and Hardin Elementary, and finally as assistant principal at Langston Hughes Academy before accepting the middle school principal position at Arthur Ashe.
From those experiences, Baylis said she learned how to deal with different teammates, students and parents. She also picked up different intervention strategies and coaching styles to help struggling teachers, in addition to relationship building skills and recognizing when accommodations are needed.
“I learned a lot of different things – it’s a combination,” she said. “So, just taking all of those pieces and kind of tweaking and making them my own have helped me achieve some of the growth in developing strong teachers on my team.”
As a leader at Arthur Ashe, Baylis has shaped the school through data tracking, coaching sessions and mentoring. Teachers utilize tracking tools, like daily exit tickets and “What I Need” blocks, which allow them to provide effective instruction and modify lessons based on students’ questions and feedback.
But Baylis said her most important tool is her strong relationships with teachers, which have allowed her to set them up for success. She said that starting a new role amid the pandemic wasn’t easy, adding that existing academic gaps persisted even after they returned to the classroom. To tackle this, Baylis leads the school’s coaching sessions every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday – something she said other schools also do, but with a twist.
During these sessions, Baylis would meet with different departments to learn about data and trends and come up with teaching plans, she said. Baylis also meets with teachers individually to discuss issues and concerns both in and out of the classroom, which she said helps build the bonds between her and the team. Through these morning hurdles, new teachers also get to learn from veteran teachers, which Baylis said promotes mentorship and partnership in the school building.
“Kids come first no matter what, and making sure that every kid has a great teacher by design, not by chance, is fascinating to me,” she said.
And for the most part, their collective work has paid off.
Arthur Ashe is currently rated a C-school overall by the Louisiana Department of Education. It has seen recent gains in statewide standardized tests, with more students achieving mastery. And it is rated an A-school for student academic growth.
On April 29, Firstline Schools, the charter network that runs Arthur Ashe, announced that Baylis will be promoted to head of school beginning in June.
Sixth grade math teacher Darren Goudeau said his students have been reaching their academic goals, something he attributed to Baylis’ dedication and leadership. Goudeau joined the school three years ago as an interventionist but took on his current role a year later, which he said wouldn’t have been possible without the trust and support of the middle school principal.
“She believed in me and told me that I could when I really didn’t believe that I was ready to be a math teacher,” he said. “Her leadership is like no other like. I really feel like I’m coming to family, like I don’t really feel like I’m coming to work every day.”
In an email to Verite News, NOLA Public Schools Superintendent Avis Williams said her experience, passion and dedication have consistently led to top performance results in the city.
“Her unwavering belief that ‘kids come first no matter what’ is the cornerstone of her success,” Williams said. “Baylis is not just a principal; she’s an inspiration guiding our district towards excellence.”
The Louisiana Department of Education will announce the 18 Teacher and Principal of the Year finalists on May 28. However, all semifinalists and finalists will be honored on July 27 at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, when the winners are announced.
Baylis said she is honored to be named a semifinalist for the award, but for the middle school principal, the work of being an educator isn’t about seeking recognition.
“I just see the need and get it done,” Baylis said. “This is my passion. This is my life. This is my dream. I want my legacy to be, ‘Wow, not that she had this accolade, but she helped me learn how to read, or she helped me become a better teacher.’”
This article originally published in the May 6, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
