Anyone who has attended an orientation with former Principal Dawn Baglos has felt her dominant presence in the auditorium as she described her expectations for her students, or as she called them, “her kids.”

“I expect nothing short of excellence,” Baglos said. “That is the standard and nothing less.”

Baglos, who was the principal of Krop from 2011 to 2015, didn’t always know she would end up working in the education system. When she attended college at the University of Florida, she went into the pre-medical program where she quickly realized she was uncomfortable with blood and would therefore not make it. She did notice, however, that she was always the one tutoring other students and helping them with their homework. Eventually, she discovered that education was her calling.

“I feel like it was meant to be,” Baglos said. “Knowing that you are making a difference in students’ lives gives you the biggest satisfaction.”

Baglos started her career in education as a sixth grade teacher at Biscayne Gardens Elementary. Three years later, John Hopkins University invited her to travel the country and teach other educators how to best improve their students’ reading skills.  Then, in 2009, she became the principal at Krop’s feeder school Highland Oaks Middle (HOM) for two years before she was reassigned to Krop. This eased the transition of many of the incoming ninth graders, who felt that their former principal was accompanying them.

“[Baglos] has been my principal since sixth grade,” senior Nathan Lewis said. “She always had such pride in her kids and it made me feel more comfortable knowing she’d still be with me through high school.”

Though knowing most of the freshman and sophomore class from her time at HOM was already an advantage, Baglos decided to take her relationship with the student body one step further. She made it her goal to learn each individual student by name, and even took the pervious year’s yearbook home over the summer to review.

“Learning names has to do with my belief that schools are about relationships,” Baglos said, “especially in a school like ours, where diversity has the ability to either divide or to serve as a uniting strength. I think knowing names helps develop those relationships.”

In her effort to make every person in the school feel important, Baglos would check up on both the students and teachers in any way she could, including surprise visits in classrooms and attending almost every school event such as theatre productions and sports games.

“I have worked for many principals before,” Silver Knight Coordinator Jean Rosenfield said, “but never one like [Baglos] who went to every single activity. I don’t know how she fit in a 24 hour day everything that she did.”

Baglos’s unique qualities, from her positive energy to her high expectations of students, set her apart and resulted in her lasting impact on both the administration and student body.

“Baglos truly cared for the students,” senior Nicole Capucci said. “She made it a point to make everyone feel appreciated in some way, and the school won’t be the same without her.”