Teacher Spotlight: Mrs. Bailey

By Viola Aderholt (Freshman)

Our vice principals are always around, sometimes on lunch duty, in classrooms, and in the halls. Last issue, The Eagle Times interviewed Mr. Clawson, one of the vice principals. The other is Mrs. Bailey. The Eagle Times talked with Mrs. Bailey about her life and work as a vice principal. 

Mrs Bailey first started her education journey as a ninth grade English teacher and taught for six years before moving on to be in the student support team. While working in student support Mrs. Bailey was also earning her masters degree and principal certification. She graduated in April 2022 and then in August was hired to be the vice principal at Obama.

Transitions to new schools can be challenging especially with such a hectic day and working in a brand new position. Mrs. Bailey describes the transition to Obama as “Great, but really busy.” She has been swamped throughout her tenure here, “There are many things I want to do here but there just aren’t enough hours in the day.” She said she would love to meet more students, but she really doesn’t have enough free time to make it work. While both our vice principals work with the high school and middle school Mrs Bailey says that most of the day for her revolves around the middle school. She remarked that the highschool runs itself while the middle schoolers need lots of support.

The average school day in the life of a vice principal is filled with activity. The first thing Mrs. Bailey does every morning is to help out with the arrival and make sure all of the kids are in their classes. After the rush of the morning Mrs. Bailey catches up on any missed referrals and responds to parent calls. She then does mediations with students who need to sit down and talk with someone. Afterwards she observes a few classes, where she mostly checks in on instruction and gives feedback to teachers. “I would love to do more classroom observations, but my schedule doesn’t allow for much,” said Mrs. Bailey. After attending classroom observation Mrs. Bailey has her assigned lunch duty, then she lingers in the main office for the rest of the day. 

While Mrs. Bailey has a lack of time during the school day she says that working with the students here is the highlight of her job. “I love being able to build relationships with students, and seeing the students here happy.” She has much to give to the school, and is always willing to make time for students. If anyone happens to catch her at a time when she isn’t busy, feel free to start up a conversation!