Ms. Baez: The Music Teacher

The Big Stage is a Big Deal for LCS Elementary Chorus Students
The Leon County Elementary Honors Chorus program is Opening the Possibilities for our elementary students in a big way. Desoto Trail Elementary music teacher Randy Baez is head of the program and passionate about teaching music, and opening the door of opportunity for all LCS elementary students to experience the “big” stage.
Ms. Baez says, “I believe that it is important to create opportunities for students who would not otherwise get the chance to be on a stage and to participate in a concert. For many, this will be their first concert performance. We also hear from parents who are glowing with pride because they never thought their children would have this opportunity.”
Randy Baez has been teaching music at DeSoto Trail Elementary since 1999, but her “trailblazing” journey with music began when she was at the same age as her students. She was born in New York, and moved to Puerto Rico when was nine years-old. It was there that she developed her love for music and began her career teaching music in a small K-12 school. In 1997 with her husband by her side, she moved to Tallahassee and worked a few years with the State of Florida, but wanted to continue her path of music education.
She was hired at Adult Education in the intake office, and it was there that she met Mrs. Sue Kraul, now retired and a former LCS Director of Elementary Schools and former school principal. After working there for over a year, Mrs. Kraul spoke with Ms. Baez about her desire to teach. In a shared moment of insight, she asked, “You know if you want to be a teacher you need to apply to be a teacher, right?” It was shortly after that prompting that Ms. Baez got her temporary certificate and was hired at Bellevue Middle School in 1998.
While working at Bellevue, Ms. Baez heard about a position opening at DeSoto Trail. “I was so excited because I really wanted to work with young students.” One day Ms. Baez received a phone call and on the other end of the line was Ms. Janice Johnson, then Principal of DeSoto. She said, “Randy, this is what I want you to do-I want you to come out here and teach our students music.” It was at that moment that Randy Baez became a part of the Trailblazer family.
Since then, she says, “Every day I get the joy of teaching my students something new and that defines me. It’s why I do this job. My goal is for them to fall in love with music. It makes me so happy when I see one of my former students and they are involved with music, theater, or the band. Recently, I heard from a former student that he is in the band for the Marines, and another one shared that she is an opera singer and is on an international tour. Knowing that I was a part of their journey is the best feeling in the world.”
This Saturday night at 7:00 pm at Leon High School, you can come watch what Mrs. Baez calls a, “Wonderful experience. To witness the joy of students as they perform on stage you realize what a big deal this is for them, and how it opens the door to other possibilities in their future.”