DR. SIDNEY E. BAKER
Senior Associate
Dr. Sidney Baker has worked as a career-educator for more than 37 years beginning as an elementary teacher in Birmingham, Alabama, and then holding various teaching and leadership roles in Georgia with Marietta City Schools, Cobb County Schools, and Atlanta Public Schools, including that of elementary principal for 19 years. His last assignment prior to retiring from public education was serving as Associate Superintendent of Elementary Schools in the Atlanta Public Schools.
With a passion for celebrating diversity and seeing the need to strengthen intercultural understanding and respect, Dr. Baker discovered the International Baccalaureate Organization in 2001. Under his leadership, Sarah Smith Elementary School became an authorized International Baccalaureate (IB) School offering the Primary Years Programme. Since 2005, he has attended—as well as presented at—national and international IB conferences. In 2011, Dr. Baker was selected to participate in the IB Academy and was trained to be a workshop leader and site visitor for IB. He also conducts introductory presentations to faculties and leads preliminary discussions with schools considering IB. He then helps map out action plans and timelines for the journey. His passion for international-mindedness continues to grow.
In 2010, Dr. Baker received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Great Books Foundation for his school’s implementation of the Junior Great Books Program. His belief in the shared inquiry approach as well as the alignment it has with the IB, internationalism, and Common Core, allows him to present workshops on how IB and Junior Great Books can enhance an elementary school’s reading program.
Committed to professional development, Dr. Baker has attended various conferences and seminars to keep current on the latest trends in education, particularly in the area of international education. He holds a Doctorate of Educational Leadership from the University of Alabama and an Education Specialist degree from the University of Georgia.
Born in the small town of Eufaula, Alabama, Dr. Baker has realized the importance of encouraging students as well as adults to consider not only their local environments but international exposure as well. As in the IB mission statement, we should “encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.”
With a passion for celebrating diversity and seeing the need to strengthen intercultural understanding and respect, Dr. Baker discovered the International Baccalaureate Organization in 2001. Under his leadership, Sarah Smith Elementary School became an authorized International Baccalaureate (IB) School offering the Primary Years Programme. Since 2005, he has attended—as well as presented at—national and international IB conferences. In 2011, Dr. Baker was selected to participate in the IB Academy and was trained to be a workshop leader and site visitor for IB. He also conducts introductory presentations to faculties and leads preliminary discussions with schools considering IB. He then helps map out action plans and timelines for the journey. His passion for international-mindedness continues to grow.
In 2010, Dr. Baker received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Great Books Foundation for his school’s implementation of the Junior Great Books Program. His belief in the shared inquiry approach as well as the alignment it has with the IB, internationalism, and Common Core, allows him to present workshops on how IB and Junior Great Books can enhance an elementary school’s reading program.
Committed to professional development, Dr. Baker has attended various conferences and seminars to keep current on the latest trends in education, particularly in the area of international education. He holds a Doctorate of Educational Leadership from the University of Alabama and an Education Specialist degree from the University of Georgia.
Born in the small town of Eufaula, Alabama, Dr. Baker has realized the importance of encouraging students as well as adults to consider not only their local environments but international exposure as well. As in the IB mission statement, we should “encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.”