ML/EL E5: 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—and how it all led her to a unique school predominantly serving refugee students. This school—where 39 languages are spoken by the diverse student body—faces 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’s story showcases the positive influence strong leadership, a dedicated staff, and research-based educational methodologies can have when creating a successful learning environment for a diverse student population.

Quotes:

"I couldn't just lead my campus into the Science of Reading if I didn't open myself up to [the possibility that] maybe I was wrong. It wasn't easy, but it really took me looking at student work to prove that what I had been doing all these years wasn't working."  —Genie Baca

"It's serving every child we have in the seat, whether they're monolingual or they speak two or three languages. What works is a systematic approach to learning how to read." —Genie Baca

"Now that we know better, and we know more about the research and how speaking and reading go together, we're just getting smarter. We're learning more about how reading works, how the brain works, how kids acquire knowledge, and we just have to be smarter with how we do things." —Genie Baca

Episode timestamps*
02:00: Introduction: Who is Genie Baca?
03:00: Genie Baca’s journey in education and unique school
10:00: School changes over 14 years
13:00: Change management: Teacher reactions & professional development
15:00: The shift to Science of Reading
27:00: Science of Reading for multilingual learners
33:00: The importance of oral language and leveraging it in the classroom
35:00: Involving parents and caregivers in the learning process
40:00: Reflecting on lessons learned and future directions
*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute