Miss Liz Baker was welcomed to AHS this school year. Baker is the special education director. She says that she loves the job because she gets a lot of support from all of the other staff. She is parallel to what the main principal does. The principal has more to do with the curriculum while she is more involved in helping the special needs students. Before becoming the special needs director, Baker started out teaching physical education because that is what she studied while in college. She enjoyed physical education but not as much as science.
Baker grew up in western Minnesota. She eventually moved to South Dakota, and then Alliance. After teaching physical education in Minnesota, Baker became a science teacher. She loved the experience and taught science for about 20 years. All together with her years of experience in teaching, she has taught 30 plus years.
When asked what Baker’s favorite thing about being in the industry was, she said, “I think my favorite thing specifically about this job is to have an influence in the entire district, not just in a small number of students.” This gives Baker excitement to come to school. She is most excited to see how the school is trying to improve. She stated, “What I am most excited about is how the district is improving the culture of the schools and improving the experience for all the students in the school and making it a positive place for them and even the teachers.”
In her free time, Baker loves to watch her kids. Her two children are involved in rodeo. So, she likes to follow them around and experience seeing them ride horses. She enjoys riding horses as well. She owns a ranch and loves to go out whenever she can to ride them. When asked if she had any pets, she replied, “I have a cat. Her name is Miss Kitty because I am not very original, and I have two dogs, Maggie and Dixie.” Overall, Baker has loved her experience at AHS and Alliance. She has been in Alliance for about two years and she thinks it is a very beautiful and positive place. The SPUD welcomes Baker and wishes her luck on her Alliance journey.