Warm smiles and welcoming teachers greet the youngsters who enter the front doors at Baker Elementary School each morning. It is situated on the southeast side of the Prosper Independent School District just off of Lake Forest Dive and south of U.S. Highway 380 on Bluewood Drive.
Deep in the middle of a neighborhood development, Principal Danielle Wallace describes her school as a community school in the truest sense of what a community school is. “Parents walk their kids to school en masse,” Wallace said. “We have car lines just like everyone else but to see the kids come with parents and get that hug before going in is amazing.”
Wallace says starting every day with that hug and smile from parents; you just can’t beat that.
“What I like best about Baker is what I like about education in general,” Wallace said. “The enthusiasm of our kids; being around kids all the time, you can’t help but be excited for every day. They approach every day with bright eyes ready for a new challenge, and how can you be grumpy or unhappy around that?”
Wallace started out in elementary education in California. Then in Texas, she taught in upper grades in McKinney for a bit before coming to Prosper ISD. She was at Reynolds and Rogers before deciding to go back to the elementary ages for her tenth year with PISD.
“In my life, at this time, this is the perfect place for me with these little kids,” she said. “This has been the perfect decision for me.” For her first time as a principal, Wallace said she’s been welcomed with open arms by all, including her staff, the parents and the PTO.
Collaboration is important to the staff at Baker Elementary. They like to work with partnerships. “We have an incredibly supportive parent group and PTO and they have welcomed me with open arms which is huge,” Wallace said. “What I love most about Baker is the community and partnerships and that helps sustain the symptoms of the growth we experience. That partnership between the school and community is going to help ease all of those growing pains and with that sense of family and community, the kids are the ones who benefit.”
Joyce Godwin | Special to The Prosper Times
