LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – As part of KCBD’s Community Coverage Tour, we are featuring a teacher in each community. The Teacher Feature is sponsored by South Plains College.
Bailey Bailey teaches English I and English II at Snyder High School.
Mrs. Bailey honored as Snyder ISD teacher of the year(Snyder ISD)
Here is what her peers submitted about her
Bailey Bailey is so awesome, you have to say her name twice! Bailey is a dedicated English teacher and department leader who serves Snyder High School with kindness, grace, and a quiet strength that makes a lasting impact on both students and staff.
As the leader of the English Department, Bailey supports her fellow teachers, encourages collaboration, and helps create a positive and welcoming culture on campus. She is the kind of educator who does so much behind the scenes, often without seeking recognition or attention. Whether she is helping plan and implement events at the high school, supporting her colleagues, or cheering others on, Bailey consistently gives her time and energy to make Snyder High School a better place.
Her impact is especially evident through her students. They love being in her classroom, and they often speak highly of what they have learned from her. Bailey has a gift for making students feel seen, supported, and capable. She not only teaches English, but also helps students grow in confidence, character, and communication.
Bailey Bailey represents the very best of education. She is a wonderful teacher, a trusted colleague, a positive campus leader, and someone with a true heart of gold. Snyder High School is better because of her, and she is very deserving of recognition as a KCBD Community Coverage Tour Area Teacher Highlight.
Bailey with husband Caden(From Snyder ISD)
Mrs. Bailey’s Teaching Testimony
Some people spend years finding their passions and “dream jobs”. For me, teaching has always been a part of who I am. My mom is a teacher. When I was born, she had taken a step back from the classroom, but her classroom supplies were always close by. I quickly discovered my mom’s old textbooks, teacher supplies, and classroom materials. I would line up my Barbies as students, write with Vis-à-Vis markers on page protectors like I was using a document camera, and teach lessons for hours. When my little sister was born, I used her as my first real student. I would read her Chicka Chicka Boom Boom until she knew her alphabet, force her to do assignments so I could grade her work, and practice how I would write “A+” or “Must Redo”.
As I got older, my mom returned back to the classroom, and I was captivated by every “teacher” thing she did. I loved sitting beside her as she planned a lesson, reading through teacher guides, and helping her tear out speed drills, that is until I would accidentally rip one and was promptly asked to go play outside. I watched her grade papers into the late evening, with grocery coupons, weekly meal lists, and a Diet Coke at the kitchen table. She was a teacher, a wife, and a mom, and poured her everything into all three. Looking back, I realize she wasn’t only teaching her students, but also teaching me the true joys of teaching, how to have compassion, and what dedication looked like.
When starting high school, my childhood dreams began to fade, being overshadowed by the voices telling me teachers didn’t make enough money and student behaviors were “too much”. I spent my high school years trying to convince myself there was another career path that would make me happy. But every path didn’t end in the light bulb moments, they weren’t filled in laughter-filled classrooms, they didn’t have pep rallies. Working summer camps, completing practicum experiences, and watching students learn, grow, and accomplish goals filled me with a joy I couldn’t ignore.
Today, I know without a shadow of a doubt I chose the right profession. Over the years, I have celebrated with a kindergartner who burst into tears after finally mastering all their letters and sounds because they were so proud of themselves. I’ve received handwritten notes from students thanking me simply for smiling every day because, in their words, they didn’t get to see many smiles at home. I’ve watched students who once doubted themselves discover a confidence they never knew they had. Those moments stick with you. They remind you that teaching is about so much more than standards, curriculum, gradebooks, or test scores, but about changing the course of someone’s day, or possibly their life.
Teaching isn’t a job I need to escape from. Teaching is a calling that challenges me to become the best version of myself every single day, because students deserve that. My students inspire me, humble me, and teach me just as much as I teach them. There is no greater privilege than being trusted with a child’s education, and for that reason, I will always believe I have the best job in the world.
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