When it comes to teaching English, Mrs.Baker is unbeatable at Hazelwood West High. Baker teaches in the English department, specifically AP Language and Composition and Media Literacy. She has a husband and a golden retriever named Bilbo. She graduated from Truman State University and has been teaching at West ever since.

    Teaching was her first love and career path. One of the reasons she started teaching is due to her being a first-generation college student and decided to pick a clear and safe path. Her love and dedication to school led her to this career. All her life she admired her teachers and saw them as kind-hearted and caring people. This eventually grew into her bonding and making connections with her teachers, especially her English teachers. Baker has too much love for all her colleagues and can’t name any favorites; She has a close bond with all the teachers in the English department and hangs out with them outside of school.   

Baker loves coffee, the season fall, reading, and deep conversations. She has two deeper passions and those are the singer Taylor Swift and the actor Tom Hanks.  

Her outside life impacted her dedication and compassion to her teaching career. Her dog Bilbo taught her how to be patient and to not be frustrated when he does not listen. This correlates with her teaching because of the students she has to help everyday at school. Her grandma was a big part of her life and has given her a lot of advice. 

Some advice Mrs. Baker has for students still in school is “grow your character before your bank account.”