Madeleine Choir School's new principal

Intermountain Catholic

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Jill Baillie

SALT LAKE CITY — Jill Baillie always wanted to be a teacher. She is now the principal of the Madeleine Choir School.

"I started my career as a camp counselor when I was 16, and have always worked with children," she said.

Baillie comes to Utah from the East Coast, where she spent several years in Boston working as an outreach program director for the YMCA. She came to Utah in 1996 to visit her sister after she had her first baby. "I never left," she said. "I really love Utah. I have worked in public education since then."

Baillie grew up in Connecticut, where she attended Catholic schools. She graduated from Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y., with a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology and political science. She also has an English endorsement and a master’s degree in second language acquisition. "I just finished my administrative certification at Utah State University," she said.

Baillie applied at the Madeleine Choir School after hearing about the position from a mutual friend of a parent. "I had no intention of leaving my previous job, but I got such a great feeling and had such a wonderful interview," Baillie said. "The programs here (at the Madeleine Choir School) are incredible, so I decided to leave my job, that I was completely happy with, and come here."

Baillie’s previous position was as a teacher specialist in the curriculum department for the Canyons School District in Sandy. There she worked in professional development with teachers and principals in secondary and elementary schools.

Before working for the Canyons School District, she worked in the Granite School District with 20 teachers as a reading coach to help develop their reading curriculum. Previous to the Granite School District, she taught seventh, eighth and ninth grade at Eisenhower Junior High School. "I taught English as a Second Language, language arts and ran the reading program," Baillie said.

Many people applied for the principal’s position, but "Jill rose to the top in terms of what we need at this particular stage of the Choir School," said Gregory Glenn, founder and director of the Madeleine Choir School. "We are growing rapidly, doubling classes this year, so it’s time for someone to come and do a lot of work with us particularly in the areas of curriculum management, providing professional development to teachers and organizational and structural things that will help us as we grow into this next stage. Jill comes with a great deal of experience in curriculum work from the Canyons Schools District and we are very excited about her academic leadership."

With the expansion of two classrooms per grade, "more families will be able to enjoy this wonderful community," Baillie said. "We have plans to make sure we grow systematically and methodically, and we are making sure our schedule and our facilities are ready for expansion. With our capital campaign, we hope to renovate the (100-year-old) Erbin Hall, which will be an historic renovation."

Baillie is impressed with the depth of programming at the Madeleine Choir School. The language program rivals some of the dual language programs she has seen, she said. "I have not heard of a school that offers such a plethora of opportunities – choir, violin, rigorous academics, religion and world language all in one school. I am thrilled to be a part of this remarkable school and caring community. The parents have been very welcoming and I’ve been impressed with how polite the students have been in introducing themselves and making it a point to come and meet me."