October 2025 - Jeff Baker

How long have you been in education and what positions have you had?
I have been in public education for 18+ years.  I have only worked in fast growth school districts as I started my career in Keller ISD, moved to Denton ISD and now I am working with Prosper ISD.  All three of these districts are located in the DFW Metroplex.  Over the course of my career - I've held the following positions:

Teacher
Coach
Instructional Technology Coach
Director of Planning
Director of Safety and Security
Instructional Materials Coordinator 

What would you tell a person new to this job?
I would tell them that it is going to be overwhelming at first - but it will get better and you have a lot of resources and people such as the IMCAT Board of Directors who can help you get through the first year.  Additionally, I would tell them to be patient, ask a lot of questions and know things are constantly changing in this position.  In this job, there is no such thing as a dumb question because chances are - someone else is wondering the same thing but is afraid to ask.  When you are stressed - just take a deep breath, exhale, and know you are going to be okay.  

What is the most unexpected challenge you have faced in this role?
I would say there are two things that were unexpected challenges for me.  The first was a few years back when a warehouse worker accidentally hit a sprinkler head with a forklift while trying to place a pallet up high on a rack and set off the water sprinklers in our warehouse.  The sprinkler head was directly over pallets of brand new instructional materials.  Unfortunately, we experienced $25K-$35K in textbook losses due to major water damage.  The cleanup and repurchasing of these instructional materials was definitely a huge challenge.  

 The second is just the amount of work that is involved with this position. When I first started in the instructional materials world, I thought you just order textbooks and when they arrive - just ship them out to the campuses.  I had no idea the amount of work it took to obtain quotes, input purchase orders, label and distribute textbooks, conduct inventory, etc..  Luckily, I am an organized and detailed person.  Otherwise, I'm not sure I would have survived-ha! 

What is one skill you would love to learn and why?
I would love to learn to speak a second language as I believe it would be invaluable in public education as well as life in general. 

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