2012 REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY | 2011 ANNUAL REPORTT H E W I N S TO N - S A L E M F O U N DAT I O N

NOURISHING OUR COMMUNITY

A PASSION FOR EDUCATION DR. AMBER BAKER

STUDENT AID

DR. AMBER BAKER SEEMS to be as at home on the playground at Kimberley Park Elementary School as she is in her office or in a

classroom — her affection for her students is palpable. And her child-hood memories of growing up during desegregation in Louisville, Ky., have impacted her role as an educator today.

Baker, who is beginning her fifth year as principal at Kimberley Park, says, “that experience dealing with racism up close and personal, having a teacher refuse to teach us because of the color of our skin — I was a ball of anger when I got here. I was a fighter.”

She moved to Winston-Salem in 1981 and graduated from North Forsyth High School in 1982. She studied marketing and management at Howard University before dropping out and moving back home with her young daughter, Ashlei.

“At that point I didn’t have anything to lose. When I had a chance to go back and reinvent myself, I knew education was what I wanted to do.”

At the age of 25, with support from the Kate B. Reynolds Scholarship held at the Foundation, Baker enrolled at Winston-Salem State University. “The Winston-Salem Foundation is probably one of the most diverse organizations in terms of what they do,” Baker said. “In other cities, I wouldn’t have been able to go back to school.”

She graduated with a degree in elementary and special education and a minor in English and history. At Ohio State University, she completed an accelerated dual-degree program in which she received a master’s degree and a doctorate in curriculum instruction and education administration.

Baker subsequently taught at Winston-Salem’s Kennedy Middle School and then worked in school administration in Charlotte and Minnesota.

For the past five years her heart and her home have been at Kimberley Park Elementary School. Baker has passionately pursued unique program opportunities and funding to expand her students’ education. For example, a community garden project was designed to strengthen bonds between 4th-grade girls and their mothers. A program called News Worthy exposed

students to broad-cast journalism and in the process strengthened their skills in reading, writing, and public speaking.

The school’s campus, which was bare and depressing when she arrived, now boasts three colorful play-grounds, a land-scaped stage area, as well as a new run-ning water feature.

The school also opens up its grounds for neighborhood gatherings — a wonderful means of community-building.

Baker expects a lot from her students in return for her work on their behalf. She says, “My kids don’t get an excuse from me for not doing their best. They don’t get a pass. The answer is education, and education does not just occur in the classroom.”

DR. AMBER BAKER received scholarship funding from the Kate B.

Reynolds Scholarship, which was established at the Foundation in

1979 to provide financial aid for traditional and non-traditional age

students from Forsyth County. Kimberley Park’s community garden

project was funded by a 2009 grant from The Women’s Fund of

Winston-Salem, and the News Worthy program was funded by a

2011 grant from the Foundation’s Black Philanthropy Initiative.

t h e w i n s t o n - s a l e m f o u n d a t i o n a n n u a l r e p o r t N O U R I S H I N G O U R C O M M U N I T Y [ 2 1 ]

A PASSION FOR EDUCATION DR. AMBER BAKER

STUDENT AID

DR. AMBER BAKER SEEMS to be as at home on the playground at Kimberley Park Elementary School as she is in her office or in a

classroom — her affection for her students is palpable. And her child-hood memories of growing up during desegregation in Louisville, Ky., have impacted her role as an educator today.

Baker, who is beginning her fifth year as principal at Kimberley Park, says, “that experience dealing with racism up close and personal, having a teacher refuse to teach us because of the color of our skin — I was a ball of anger when I got here. I was a fighter.”

She moved to Winston-Salem in 1981 and graduated from North Forsyth High School in 1982. She studied marketing and management at Howard University before dropping out and moving back home with her young daughter, Ashlei.

“At that point I didn’t have anything to lose. When I had a chance to go back and reinvent myself, I knew education was what I wanted to do.”

At the age of 25, with support from the Kate B. Reynolds Scholarship held at the Foundation, Baker enrolled at Winston-Salem State University. “The Winston-Salem Foundation is probably one of the most diverse organizations in terms of what they do,” Baker said. “In other cities, I wouldn’t have been able to go back to school.”

She graduated with a degree in elementary and special education and a minor in English and history. At Ohio State University, she completed an accelerated dual-degree program in which she received a master’s degree and a doctorate in curriculum instruction and education administration.

Baker subsequently taught at Winston-Salem’s Kennedy Middle School and then worked in school administration in Charlotte and Minnesota.

For the past five years her heart and her home have been at Kimberley Park Elementary School. Baker has passionately pursued unique program opportunities and funding to expand her students’ education. For example, a community garden project was designed to strengthen bonds between 4th-grade girls and their mothers. A program called News Worthy exposed

students to broad-cast journalism and in the process strengthened their skills in reading, writing, and public speaking.

The school’s campus, which was bare and depressing when she arrived, now boasts three colorful play-grounds, a land-scaped stage area, as well as a new run-ning water feature.

The school also opens up its grounds for neighborhood gatherings — a wonderful means of community-building.

Baker expects a lot from her students in return for her work on their behalf. She says, “My kids don’t get an excuse from me for not doing their best. They don’t get a pass. The answer is education, and education does not just occur in the classroom.”

DR. AMBER BAKER received scholarship funding from the Kate B.

Reynolds Scholarship, which was established at the Foundation in

1979 to provide financial aid for traditional and non-traditional age

students from Forsyth County. Kimberley Park’s community garden

project was funded by a 2009 grant from The Women’s Fund of

Winston-Salem, and the News Worthy program was funded by a

2011 grant from the Foundation’s Black Philanthropy Initiative.

t h e w i n s t o n - s a l e m f o u n d a t i o n a n n u a l r e p o r t N O U R I S H I N G O U R C O M M U N I T Y [ 2 1 ]