GREGORY P. BAKER

Accomplishments:

• Coordinate the daily operations and provide instructional support for the Transitional Education Program, where students participate in learning activities to support their independent living and work readiness skills, as well as their ongoing social-emotional development. These student experiences are accomplished in collaboration with three special education teachers, one LEA, five clinicians, thirteen paraprofessionals, an administrative assistant, private transportation providers, and area work site location hosts
• Serve as the initial Equity Committee Co-Chair, which currently has two goals. One, to engage the Equity Committee in foundational experiences that connect members to each other. Two, conduct an equity audit with a third party organization to learn about the current educational equity climate and culture of the district and its various stakeholder groups.
• Coordinated a College & Career Fair where over 850 students were able to interact with professionals and volunteers who represented colleges, universities, fire and law enforcement departments, emergency medical technician and cosmetology training schools, armed service branches (i.e. the U.S. Marines Corp, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Army), and scholarship organizations.
• Coordinated a Professional Speed Dating Program where over40 students and families were able to learn about career and education experiences of professionals who work in finance, college admissions, law enforcement, fire safety, the medical industry as an emergency medical technician, entrepreneur, armed forces, carpentry, cosmetology, and education.
• Coordinated the implementation of an online professional development series—Infinitec, for Paraprofessionals to learn more about services students with individual education plans (IEPs) need to make progress towards and meet their IEP goals.
• Coordinated the successful submission of an American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) Certification application with the Rich Township High School District227 School Counselor team which was approved on March 14,2022.

Responsibilities:

• Primary responsibilities include: coordinating the transitional education services of young adults—ages 18 to22 years old (e.g. making sure IEPs are in compliance and implemented, ensuring the Transition Center’s physical needs are met, ensure proper staffing is secured for certified and non-certified staff, facilitate weekly team meetings and ongoing professional development and professional coaching, transportation needs to participants residence and job sites for job-readiness are coordinated); coordinating Equity Committee activities to improve the educational equity climate and culture of the district and its various stakeholder groups; coordinating the professional duties of the: School Counselors (e.g. course selection, progress monitoring of student achievement in their classes by monitoring grades, and post-high school planning); School Social Workers (e.g. Individual and group counseling and connecting students to community social-emotional resources); MTSS Specialists (e.g. universal academic and social-emotional screeners, and student support teams that deliver tier two and three interventions); Parent Programming (e.g. coordinated webinar programs that placed an emphasis on various ways to support students social-emotional development with community partners from various agencies—i.e. Linden Oaks, Midwest Family and Community Services, the National Alliance on Mental Illness—NAMI, the Seventh University, Trinity Services, and Heartgrove Behavioral Health); Paraprofessionals (e.g. Individual Education Plan Para supports and intervention techniques); School Nurses (e.g. medical compliance reporting); Transition Coordinators and College, Career, Military Liaisons (e.g. post-high school planning for students who receive Individual Education Plan or general education services respectively, FAFSA Completion, etc.); Truancy Officers (e.g. student and parent outreach efforts to deter chronic absenteeism); and community partners who support tier two and three supports for students.

Accomplishments:

• Created R.I.S.E. (Racial Inclusion Support and Equity), which is a student organization that serves as an umbrella organization to meet the various multicultural needs of South Elgin H.S.: ethnic, gender, religious, sexual orientation, class, political, and other identities represented at South Elgin High School.
• Made a call for action among secondary school building administrators to discuss, analyze, and begin to incorporate practices (e.g
• Campus Equity Walks, student Equity Leadership Conference) to improve the education experiences of students who self-identify with a historically disadvantaged community.
• Developed a collaborative monthly professional development opportunity for Student Services staff to learn more about community resources and effective practices to support the social-emotional needs of students
• Created a professional team with representation from various departments and labor associations to improve how students individually and collectively support and address the ability of students to self-regulate their emotions. Also, this team discusses how professionals will support students with known and unknown Adverse Childhood Experiences (A.C.E.s), in an effort to improve the climate and culture of South Elgin High School.
• Created S.P.E.A.K. (Storm Peers Engaged in Acts of Kindness), which is a student organization that provides day-long workshops to provide students ways to: 1) strengthen their ability to be resilient; 2) understand they are not the only person learning how to manage stress and trauma; and 3) healthy ways to support other students and inform caring adults.
• Established a threat assessment team, which discusses the safety of students, staff, and guests on campus with members from various departments and labor associations. In addition, this team plans professional development opportunities for staff, and safety drills for students.

Responsibilities

• Primary responsibilities include: New Teacher Orientation; master schedule development; supervising the operations of the Deans’ Office to ensure safety and school behavior expectations are being adhered to and taught; working collaboratively with administrators and staff at South Elgin High School and throughout Elgin Area School District U-46 to find ways to effectively deliver student counselor, social work, and nurse office related services; serve as the administrator overseeing the Student Services Department, to ensure students are physically and emotionally safe and able to attend school; evaluate various content teachers and Student Services team members using the Danielson Framework for Teaching; serve as the test site coordinator for national and local assessments (e.g. SAT, PSAT, Advanced Placement, ASVAB); and assist a team of professionals to ensure the instructional technology, as well as the grounds and facilities on campus are operational to meet the learning and teaching needs of students and staff.

Accomplishments:

• Established a student advisory group called, “The Culture Council,” which organized and hosted student-led diversity, equity, and inclusion programs for the student body
• Created a partnership between Community Unit School District308 and Illinois State University’s Psychology Department to support the student led equity and inclusion advocacy at Oswego High School and throughout the school district
• Worked collaboratively with staff from every department within the school to provide social emotional programming to inform certified and non-certified staff about Adverse Childhood Experiences (A.C.E.s) to promote a trauma informed school community that supported students, families, and professional members of the Oswego High School community
• Created an Assessment Committee to review and improve test administration practices at Oswego High School

Responsibilities:

• Primary responsibilities include: working collaboratively with administrators and staff at Oswego High School and throughout Community Unit School District308 to find ways to effectively deliver student counselor, social work, psychologist, and nurse office related services; serve as the administrator overseeing the Student Services Department, in conjunction with the Deans’ Office and building leadership team, to ensure students are physically and emotionally safe and able to attend school; evaluate various content teachers and Student Services team members using the Danielson Framework for Teaching; serve as the test site coordinator for national and local assessments (e.g
• SAT, PSAT, ACCESS for ELLs, Illinois Science Assessment, and DLM); and assist with creating the master schedule; diversity and inclusion programs

• Inaugural Equal Opportunity School (EOS) team member, who worked collaboratively with professional educators and an outside consultant to design and development methods to increase the enrollment and achievement of underserved students in Advanced Placement courses
• Organized and facilitated a peer mentoring program, in which African American and Latinx Glenbard East students were trained and served as mentors to African American and Latinx Marquardt Middle School students
• Supported the iPad deployment initiative for students and facilitated conversations with students and families about digital citizenship
• Responsibilities: Primary responsibilities include: ensuring students were physically and emotionally safe, attend school, evaluate teachers, and communicate regularly with parents; leading meetings with other staff in Student Services in an effort to provide appropriate interventions to improve student achievement; facilitating a team of teachers and Student Services staff who collaborated with others to provide students in a self-contained academic setting with appropriate interventions; administrative liaison for off-site career program Technology Center of DuPage (TCD)

• Increased the number of students enrolled in Advanced Placement courses, especially among students taking AP U.S
• History
• Facilitated professional conversations with teachers, which influenced the instructional practices of Social Studies and World Languages faculty to provide students with more learning activities that included writing
• Provided instructional coaching for18 teachers and was notably visible on a regular basis to assist with any academic and behavior concerns
• Responsibilities: Primary responsibilities include: ensuring teachers use effective and engaging teaching practices in the classroom; evaluated teachers using the Danielson Framework for Teaching rubric; served as an active member of various committeesspecifically the School Improvement Plan team, which met with other educators, parents, and community partners