Serving every student, in every seat, speaking any language, with Genie Baca
This episode features an in-depth conversation with Genie Baca, a 33-year education veteran who has spent the last 18 years as a principal in Texas. Baca discusses her career progression from a balanced literacy classroom teacher to various educational roles along her journey to the Science of Reading鈥攁nd how it all led her to a unique school predominantly serving refugee students. This school鈥攚here 39 languages are spoken by the diverse student body鈥攆aces different challenges (and opportunities) than most schools. Baca shares some of the transformative strategies implemented under her leadership, particularly focusing on the Science of Reading and high-quality instructional materials. These strategies have significantly improved literacy and engagement, with a systematic approach adjusted for Tier 1 instruction to benefit all students, including monolingual and multilingual learners. Baca鈥檚 story showcases the positive influence strong leadership, a dedicated staff, and research-based educational methodologies can have when creating an inclusive, successful learning environment for a diverse student population.
Meet our guest(s):
Genie Baca
Genie Baca brings over three decades of experience in the field of education to her work, in which she boasts a rich and diverse background spanning various roles within the educational landscape. She has been a classroom teacher, reading recovery teacher, curriculum specialist, and assistant principal, and now serves as Principal of Eastridge Elementary. Known for being the most complex elementary school in Baca鈥檚 district, Eastridge Elementary serves 560 students from countries all over the world. Collectively, there are 39 languages represented by this student body. Recently, Baca led her campus through the implementation of 抖阴成人版app, Eureka, and PhD Science curricula. She holds a bachelor鈥檚 in education and a master鈥檚 in management.
Meet our host, Susan Lambert
Susan Lambert is the Chief Academic Officer of Elementary Humanities at 抖阴成人版app, and the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast. Her career has been focused on creating high-quality learning environments using evidence-based practices. Lambert is a mom of four, a grandma of four, a world traveler, and a collector of stories.
As the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Lambert explores the increasing body of scientific research around how reading is best taught. As a former classroom teacher, administrator, and curriculum developer, Lambert is dedicated to turning theory into best practices that educators can put right to use in the classroom, and to showcasing national models of reading instruction excellence.
