Mrs. Gloria Baker
COUNCIL PRESIDENT
Gloria D. Baker was born Gloria J. Davis in Chicago, Illinois, to Walton Sr. and Vanola Davis. She came to Gorham UMC as a baby. She is a proud product of the Chicago Public Schools, both elementary and secondary, and graduated from Hyde Park High School.
She went on to attend Roosevelt University in Chicago, where she majored in English, and enjoyed studying Chaucer, Tolstoy, Shakespeare, and Dostoevsky, along with Langston Hughes, Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, and Toni Morrison, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree.
She earned a Master of Arts Degree In Educational Administration and Supervision from Chicago State University (a cooperative program with Northeastern Illinois University).
She passed the required state of Illinois exam, and received the Type 75 Certificate in Educational Administration.
In her career as an educator, Gloria distinguished herself as a school teacher and principal. During her twenty-five year tenure at O’Keeffe Elementary, Gloria served as the Reading Specialist; Administrative Assistant to the principal; the assigned Assistant Principal; and during her last eight years, served as Contract Principal, until retirement in June, 2001. She received the Principal’s Certificate after success on the Principal’s Exam administered by the Board of Examiners of the Chicago Public Schools.
In 1982, she married Phillip Baker, a lifelong friend and the great love of her life. With him, she has enjoyed three bonus sons, along with bonus grandchildren and great-grands.