Ella Ilan

The Byram Hills Education Foundation Funding Our Students’ Futures

August 17, 2021 by Ella Ilan

The View Sonic at Byram Hills High School

As a Byram Hills parent, I have often marveled throughout the years over the state-of-the-art technology and innovative programming available to our students in our local public school. Byram Hills families have been fortunate to have the Byram Hills Education Foundation (“BHEF”) brainstorming and funding visionary grants complementing an already stellar school district. The BHEF is a non-profit group that has awarded over 430 grants totaling over $5 million since 1994.

The mission of the BHEF is to enhance the education of all students in the Byram Hills school district by funding grants that encourage learning and personal development. The BHEF is governed by a board of directors representing a broad spectrum of the community. The board is comprised of 27 voting directors, consisting of parent and community volunteers. In addition, a group of non-voting board members include Byram Hills Superintendent Dr. Jen Lamia, a teacher representative from each school, and representatives from the board of education.

The BHEF funds two main types of grants: insta-grants and signature grants. Insta-grants can be submitted by teachers at any point in the year, are capped at $2500, and must be implemented that same school year. Signature grants are typically bigger in dollar, can be implemented over two years, and typically follow a lengthier review process. The BHEF relies entirely on donations from parents and the community to fund grants.

Facilitating Getting Kids Back to School

Last summer, in response to the schools being shut down and the challenges posed by the Covid pandemic, the BHEF fast-tracked their grant review process and supplied cutting edge ViewSonic Virtual Classroom technology, an idea spearheaded by Dr. Andrew Taylor, Director of Technology at Byram Hills, that allowed our teachers to implement effective hybrid learning for students in different locations through a touch screen monitor and accompanying software that served as a hub in each classroom. They also outfitted every school with new shaded outdoor spaces for socially distanced learning and fresh air mask breaks.

“This was very quick from idea to inception,” recalls Jessica Bond, BHEF president, “but we were able to get it done because of the great collaboration and communication we have with the administration.”

The BHEF Is An Innovation Engine

“The BHEF is capable of doing what school budgets cannot do alone. The BHEF has been behind major initiatives of the District for decades, from 1:1 technology initiatives to library renovations and program development. EVERY child in Byram Hills benefits from the support of the BHEF–at every turn in their school years–and that is a big part of what distinguishes a Byram Hills education,” says Dr. Lamia.

Grant ideas can come from a variety of sources. Teachers are encouraged to submit grant proposals. “It is their classroom,” says Bond, “and if they want to try something innovative or have a need, that’s why we’re here and we try to get that message out to them.”

To generate ideas and foster community involvement, the BHEF has also organized roundtable discussions with the donor leadership members, the Benefactor and Bobcat levels, to brainstorm grant ideas. “We discuss what we hope our kids will have learned upon graduating here and how we want them to feel; things like independence, being an innovative thinker, and happy. Then we talk about what grants might achieve that and where parents currently see successes and opportunities in our schools,” explains Bond. The BHEF holds multiple community and donor events throughout the year and welcomes the community’s input.

Once a year, the BHEF participates in a forum with other school foundations, such as Bronxville, Chappaqua and Edgemont, where they also share and discuss grant initiatives. Throughout its process, the BHEF maintains an open dialogue with the administration. “We work hand in hand with Dr. Lamia and the principals throughout the year to understand where our schools and students need our support and to translate that into successful grants that our community will rally behind,” explains Bond.

Photos courtesy of the Byram Hills Education Foundation

Game-changers for the Students

Every year, the grants have been impressive game-changers for the students. This year introduced the ViewSonic technology, enabling virtual learning, and the Written Out Loud program, where kids learned the power of storytelling by writing and publishing their own books. Last year, the Creative Arts Community Center grant created an indoor and outdoor community space at Wampus connecting two contemporary art studios to an outdoor space that will support student learning.

In 2019, the Wellness for Life grant funded a partnership with the nationally recognized Stanford University’s Challenge Success program to assess and support student wellness. The Wellness Initiative in 2018 built an indoor educational playspace at Coman Hill to be used year-round and an outdoor obstacle course at Wampus, all to nurture students’ physical and mental wellness.

The Library 2.0 renovations in 2017 at Coman Hill, Wampus, and H.C. Crittenden integrated STEAM and Makers Spaces, updated presentation technology, modernized learning spaces, and connected the library and computer labs. The Full STEAM Ahead grant and STEAM Labs initiative in 2016 renovated technology labs and gave students at all academic levels exposure to coding, robotics, engineering, electronics, and 3D modeling. Much what Byram Hills families have come to take for granted in the classrooms now was initially funded by the BHEF, from the smart boards to the chromebooks to the cloud computer.

The BHEF also funds smaller but very impactful grants throughout the year. A few examples include new podcasting equipment, alternative classroom seating to support all types of learners, Kindle e-readers, specialized “pupil core eye tracking” glasses for research and athletic projects, a solar telescope, Byram Hills’ first greenhouse to study plants, and much more.

The global scholars program at the high school, which began as a pilot, started with the idea of providing students an alternative to the acclaimed science research program and creating a global competency in students to teach them how to be citizens of the world. The BHEF took a chance and funded a professional development trip to Nicaragua for teachers to learn how to bring this program to Byram Hills, which has since developed into a well-loved robust program.

One of the newest projects funded by the BHEF is the construction of Crittenden Commons, a multi-sport court for basketball, volleyball, street hockey and other sports with an amphitheater style seating area. The seating area will extend outdoor learning opportunities at the middle school. “The English teachers are already picturing doing Shakespeare outside,” says Bond.

How to Donate

Donations of any amount are welcome online at SupportByramHills.org. The Benefactor Circle for those who give $1500 or more and the Bobcat Circle for those who give $750 up to $1499 are leadership circles which include exciting benefits. Additionally, for anyone interested in honoring a teacher, a “teacher tribute” can be ordered online at SupportByramHills.org and the BHEF will send your teacher a special certificate notifying them of your gift in their honor. The BHEF sponsors many fun events throughout the year including an Outdoor Family Movie Night (10/2/21) and a Spring Bash (2022 date TBD). Corporate sponsorships are available with benefits and volunteer opportunities are available for anyone that wants to get involved. Contact the BHEF at bhef1@byramhills.org.

Easy to Digest Healthy Eating Strategies from Weight Loss Coach Lyssa Weiss

April 2, 2021 by Ella Ilan

Amongst the myriad of ways that Covid has affected our lives this past year, unwanted weight gain has been a reality for many of us. Much of our energy was focused on procuring food for family trapped at home and much time was spent in the kitchen preparing meals. Boredom combined with anxiety created a recipe for plenty of mindless snacking. Armonk resident Lyssa Weiss, M.S., R.D., C.D.N., is the owner of Skinny Jeans Nutrition, LLC and a weight loss coach who specializes in emotional eating. I spoke with her about how she keeps herself accountable and helps her clients control their weight through Covid.

As a wife and mother of two with a busy career, Weiss is relatable. She understands her clients’ weight loss struggles because she herself lost 50 pounds, has kept it off for 27 years, and considers herself a food addict in recovery. “I had to change my thinking about food, overeating, and dieting in order to keep the weight off,” Weiss shares. “Once you learn to think differently, you literally become a happier version of yourself.”

Creating Good Habits

Weiss admits that at the start of the pandemic, her family, like everyone else’s, often found themselves in the kitchen with everyone on different eating schedules and generally bonding around meals. She quickly established boundaries and used the clock as a schedule, limiting herself to specific mealtimes and snack times. “My family was in the kitchen cooking and that was not going to change so I had to change. If there was lasagna, I made sure there was something else I can eat… and taking care of myself the way I would take care of my child if they had a special dietary need.”

Weiss promotes creating good habits and she practices what she preaches. She keeps a daily food record, mapping out her food for the day and budgets her calories accordingly. She calls it “calorie accounting” and teaches her clients that “it’s like money in a bank where you only have $1200 or 1200 calories to spend each day and you must budget that in planning your meals.”

Other helpful habits Weiss encourages include eating off a smaller plate to help control portion sizes and serving meals buffet style which forces you to stand up to get a second helping.

Staying Motivated

As we lounge around in sweatpants without social engagements on our schedule, it is difficult to stay motivated through this pandemic. Weiss advises clients to look to the future. “You don’t want to compound the pain of social isolation with the feeling that you also hate how you look and feel.”

Weiss understands that everyone has slip-ups but advises us to move past them. “Willpower does not work in dieting. I call it skill-power, and it’s a skill to not let your slip-up become your stopping point. I mess up like everyone else,” she concedes, “but I pick myself up the next day. I don’t let it become a week or a month or a pandemic of slip-ups.”

Avoiding Bad Boyfriend Foods

Weiss does not label certain foods good or bad, but she explains that how we behave around certain foods is ‘good’ or ‘bad’. She calls foods that we lose our sensibilities around ‘bad boyfriend foods’. “Whenever you get involved with these foods, it ends badly with you overeating them. One girl’s bad boyfriend food could be cookies while another’s could be grapes. It is not about the food, but rather how you behave around the food.”

To resist the pull towards these bad boyfriend foods, Weiss recommends keeping your kitchen clean of them since “we eat with our eyes.” In her own household, she stores her kids’ snacks in separate drawers from her own “safe foods” to avoid temptation.

Enjoyable snacks, however, that one will not overeat, are encouraged by Weiss. “Your day should be 80/20; 80% should be nutritious food and 20% should be fun treats because research shows that people who include treats in their diet stick to their food plan better.”

Find a Vice

As a specialist in emotional eating, Weiss travels two lanes in her office. Besides focusing on which foods to eat for weight loss, she explains why clients turn to food to change the way they are feeling whether lonely, tired, overwhelmed, or worried.

For example, those who claim hunger as they reach for the cookie jar, skipping the low-calorie food, such as an apple, are not experiencing physical hunger. “That’s just mindless grazing. Boredom and fear-based eating have been the two biggest culprits of over-eating during this pandemic.”

To combat this, Weiss suggests finding something else to compete with the act of eating so that you don’t turn to food “for a dopamine hit” when you’re simply bored. Instead, she urges, “find a vice that lights you up that is as quick and accessible as eating.” Weiss’s suggestions include watching Netflix shows, taking online courses, talking to friends, or starting a new hobby.

Besides seeing clients in her private practice, Weiss is generous with weight loss advice on her public Facebook page [Lyssa Dansky Weiss] where she runs a private weight loss support community, and on Instagram @lyssaweiss. Weiss is also the author of the book The Skinny Jeans Diet (Harper Collins). For more information, visit www.lyssaweiss.com.

Lyssa Weiss’s Buffalo Chicken Wings

1/2 of recipe (5 wings): 215 calories, 5.5g total fat, 16g carbs, 4g fiber, 1g sugars, 27g protein

Ingredients

15-20 reduced-fat BBQ baked potato chips or popped chips

Dash onion powder

Dash garlic powder

Dash cayenne pepper

Dash each salt and black pepper

8 oz. raw boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 10 nugget-size bites

3 tbsp. Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.

In a blender/food processor or in a ziplock bag with a spoon, grind/pound chips into crumbs. Transfer to a wide bowl and mix in seasonings.

Place chicken nuggets in a large bowl. Top with sauce and toss to coat.

One at a time, shake nuggets to remove excess sauce and coat with crumbs. Evenly lay on the baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes. Flip chicken. Bake until cooked through and crispy, about 6 minutes. Eat!

(You can also make this in the air fryer. Bake for 10 minutes at 350.)

Byram Hills Administration Shares How the District Achieved In-Person Classes Despite the Pandemic

February 18, 2021 by Ella Ilan

And the keys to success meeting unprecedented challenges…

Bravo Byram Hills! Facing unprecedented challenges due to Covid-19, the Byram Hills School District has risen to the occasion successfully implementing a well-laid plan for the safe education of our children. Despite an abrupt shutdown of schools in mid-March with no handbook on how to remotely educate an entire district, things are now running smoothly with a mixture of in-person (K-6), hybrid (7-12), and remote instruction (K-12 option). The magnitude of this accomplishment cannot be overstated when many of the nation’s schools were unable to reopen and remained completely remote this school year.

“The Eye of the Storm”- The First Few Weeks

In mid-March, when Covid-19 forced a historic shutdown of our schools, Byram Hills administrators and faculty kicked into high gear to try and provide a semblance of normalcy and continuity of education for students.

“It felt like we were in the middle of a storm,” recalls Dr. Jen Lamia, Superintendent of Schools. “We were trying to support teachers who were out remotely for the first time, trying to deploy Chromebooks to support parents, trying to get curriculum and technology up and running, and it was incredibly difficult.”

Initially, no one knew how long schools would be closed because school districts were awaiting instructions from the governor. “We made decisions based on temporary status,” says Dr. Tim Kaltenecker, Deputy Superintendent. “We would’ve made different decisions, such as having a schedule, if we knew it was going to be long term. So, we took those lessons learned from the spring, we surveyed the community, the students, and faculty, and used much of that information to start planning for September.”

“We had no idea we were in that lull and things were going to continue to get worse,” says Lamia. “However, once we realized this will be somewhat permanent, we moved our minds to preparations for the fall.”

“Pots on a Stove” – Preparing for the Fall

“We watched our K-6 learners struggle in a remote setting, so our number one goal was to get K-6 back in school, socially-distanced, and then to identify curriculum, so Tim, Gina Cunningham (Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources), Kelly Seibert (Assistant Superintendent for Business and Management Services) and I started this work,” explains Lamia.

To bring students back, the administration had to tackle a myriad of details related to building operations, curriculum, instruction, personnel, technology, and safety. Every building and every grade level had its own challenges to address. “We had a lot of pots on the stove, we had different urgent items that we needed to tend to for things to run well,” says Lamia.

Communication was key. The process involved talking with teachers and staff to ascertain what they needed to feel safe to return, talking to parents about what worked for their children in remote learning in the Spring, talking to students about how instruction could be enhanced, and conversations with the Byram Hills Education Foundation (“BHEF”) about how they can support the District with the technology needed.

Separate task forces and sub-committees of faculty and administrators for K-5 and 6-12 were convened to make curriculum decisions. A Strategic Planning Committee was formed to keep everyone on schedule and ensure they were meeting benchmarks.

“Our students are at the center of our decision-making,” says Kaltenecker “our teachers were consulted every step of the way.”

Administrators worked around the clock to prepare for all scenarios. “While awaiting guidelines from the state, we planned three different models including a plan for all students in school with safety precautions, a hybrid plan, and an all remote plan,” explains Kaltenecker. “We needed to be ready because we wanted to bring in as many kids as possible for as much time as possible.”

The work paid off because Byram opened its doors on September 1, 2020 with K-6 students attending daily and grades 7-12 attending in a hybrid model. School was able to proceed because schedules were adjusted to cohort students as much as possible to de-densify classrooms, custodians prepared the buildings to meet public health guidelines, the BHEF supplied classrooms with cutting edge technology for synchronous hybrid learning, and all staff were determined to make this work.

The Importance of a Well-Prepared Team

This herculean effort could not have been undertaken without the strong foundation that had been built by the administrative team. Lamia and Kaltenecker have been working together and refining their organizational plans since 2003. “We’ve had a lot of practice in doing this sort of planning and thinking work, just never of this magnitude,” says Lamia.

“Because of our relationship, I trust Jen with my life so when we’re making these decisions…I know they’re with good intent for the district,” says Kaltenecker. “Fifty percent of our administrative team has been here a long time, we’ve studied leadership texts together, and we have a good language built in our system that helped us as we were designing this.”

“The message from Jen that was consistent whenever people were wavering, was ‘Our children need to be in school. We have to bring them back day one. How do we make that happen?’

And that was our mission,” says Kaltenecker.

“We worked very hard on this, but it’s our faculty, staff, and administration that made this happen because of their care for our children. They built it,” emphasizes Lamia.

Throughout the planning and execution of this effort, leadership consulted with a stakeholder group comprised of physicians, hospital administrators, a military veteran trained in strategic planning, nurses, principals, town supervisors, members of the board, members of the teacher’s union, and PTSA. “This group was incredible,” says Lamia. “It occurred to me that if I’m going

to move forward with opening schools, I need experts to weigh in, I need studies, I need organizational plans, and I need input from all stakeholders.”

Moving Forward with Lessons Learned

Much has been learned both about the ever-evolving science on Covid-19 and on a smaller scale, about educating the students. This past fall, in accordance with Department of Health guidelines, any child that had been in a classroom or on a bus with a Covid-positive person was instructed to quarantine for fourteen days. In December, the NYS Department of Health reduced the quarantine to ten days for exposed individuals. Also, since there have been no known cases of quarantined individuals becoming symptomatic, purportedly due to the vigilant adherence to social distancing practices, the district is not casting as wide a net when identifying exposed individuals. Only “close contacts” are directed to quarantine.

Looking ahead, the administration is discussing lessons they have learned, practices they may want to continue in a post-Covid life, things they may want to tweak, accessing vaccines for the district and arranging testing for everyone. For now, the district has facilitated weekly surveillance testing of twenty percent of students and staff using the Mirimus saliva-based PCR tests.

“If I had a gift,” says Lamia, “it would be to receive enough rapid PCR tests for every adult and student in the schools to take every Monday morning at home, so I knew with assurance that at that snapshot in time everybody was coming in Covid-free. That would be the most beautiful gift to take us from now forward.”

In the meantime, students and parents are grateful to have school in session. In a recent board meeting, Wampus Elementary Principal Peggy McInerney remarked on how appreciative the kids are to be in school. That is what makes it all worthwhile.

Getting to Know Marlene Fischer: Cherished Blogger, Now Celebrated Author

November 13, 2020 by Ella Ilan

Armonk resident Marlene Fischer holds many titles. Besides being a mom, wife, lifelong writer, blogger, and a college essay editor, she jokingly adds “food shopper” and “stain removalist” to her list of roles. Raising three boys, it often seemed like food shopping and laundry were her main gigs. Book author, however, is Fischer’s newest title.

Never imagining that she would one day write a book, Fischer just successfully self-published her first book, Gained a Daughter But Nearly Lost My Mind: How I Planned a Backyard Wedding During A Pandemic. (Editor’s Note: Order on the net or inquire at your favorite local bookstore or gift store for availability.)

A new empty nester, with her youngest son away for his freshman year at college last year, Fischer was just acclimating to her new life and blogging about it when the pandemic began. She suddenly found herself with her husband working from home and the two of them sharing a very full house with all three sons and her oldest son’s fiancée at the start of the pandemic.

Navigating meals, everyone’s needs, a never-ending mess, and the challenges of a pandemic became the subject of Fischer’s hilarious and poignant musings on her Facebook page blog, which currently boasts about 12,000 followers.

The title of her Facebook page, “Thoughts From Aisle 4,” was suggested by her oldest son, and derived from her voicemail message on her phone for many years; “Sorry I missed your call. I’m probably in Aisle 4 at the grocery store. I will call you when I’m done.”

“A Source of Light”

Inspired by Erma Bombeck’s irreverent writing, Fischer is relatable and humorous. In addition to posting on topics such as handbag shopping, aging, politics, and random observations about life, many of her posts relay stories about the frustrations and joys of raising her three boys. For younger moms, it brings hope to see that no matter your worries, they all turn out just fine, just like Fischer’s bright young responsible sons. Judging by her followers’ comments, the page has been a source of light, humor and silver linings throughout many months of quarantine. It was easy for readers to feel emotionally invested in Fischer’s excitement over her oldest son’s impending nuptials and the trials and tribulations of planning a wedding during a pandemic. Many could relate to Fischer’s excitement over her relationship with her new daughter-in-law with stories such as being invited by the bride to help choose a wedding dress. Fischer believes the wedding planning was so captivating to her followers because “it was a good distraction for everybody” during the anxiety-ridden quarantine period.

Realizing that the couple’s planned wedding, a large fancy event originally planned in Washington D.C., the bride’s hometown, was no longer possible due to Covid, they decided to get married on their intended wedding date in the Fischer’s backyard with only close family members attending. “My goal was to make it so amazing that they wouldn’t want another wedding,” explains Fischer.

Fischer describes the backyard as having looked magical between the tiki torches, the tables, and the landscaping and plantings that Fischer’s husband had painstakingly tended to for weeks. The family incorporated beautiful and meaningful Jewish traditions throughout the wedding.

The wedding was an Armonk celebration in every way. There was a drive-by parade of local friends and neighbors and it felt like everyone in town was rooting for them to have a great day. Fischer was glad to be able to support local small businesses struggling through the pandemic by patronizing the town’s retailers for the food, attire, and décor.

The ceremony was officiated by Rabbi Joshua Strom of Congregation B’nai Yisrael in Armonk who actually met the bride and groom at a Phish concert in Mexico. The couple’s shared bond with the Rabbi over Phish aligned perfectly with their wedding logo incorporating the Phish logo, Phish shirts for the guests, the bride and groom dancing their first dance on a trampoline to a Phish song, and everyone dancing the night away to a Phish cover band, Uncle Ebenezer.

Still glowing from the wedding, Fischer decided this story had to be a book. Rewriting her blogs and adding material to create a more cohesive story, she successfully wrote her first book, a labor of love, with the help of her long-time best friend and editor Helene Wingens.

A Family Affair

Fischer credits her husband for always being supportive. “I call my husband Mr. Aisle 4 and he often proofs my stuff. It’s really a family affair. One of my boys likes to criticize while the other two like and share everything. We all have our different roles.”

In the meantime, Fischer has held several book signings in town at some of her frequent hangouts including outside the local market. A book signing inside Aisle 4 of the market was not possible due to Covid.

Excerpt from Gained a Daughter but Nearly Lost My Mind: How I Planned a Backyard Wedding During A Pandemic, by Marlene Fischer

“The Battle Royale”

We had a battle going on at my house. More specifically, outside my house. It was my husband vs. the woodland creatures.

My husband had wisely left all the wedding details to me, save one; the garden. He decided to use this opportunity to beautify our yard in advance of the kids’ BIG DAY.

He bought flowers and planted them in the front beds. And the back beds, amongst the rocks. And it was good. But it wasn’t good enough. So, I went with him to the nursery and bought more flowers to keep the other flowers company. I was happy to go because it wasn’t like I was getting out much.

And then he planted those flowers as well. Since our yard backs on the woods, creatures like deer and chipmunks like to nibble on our flowers. To combat this danger, he bought deer repellant. Which sort of smells like a combination of urine and vomit.

Every few days my husband, bless his heart, went outside and sprayed all the flowers. And then we all headed inside and closed all the windows because it smelled that bad. Good luck to any animal who wanted to eat our flowers after my husband had sprayed; all I can say is that they would have had to be really hungry.

Then my husband went back to the nursery a third time and purchased bushes. And he hired people to plant all those bushes because it was too big of a project for him to tackle alone.

He also planted his annual vegetable and herb garden and put a higher fence around it to keep chipmunks and rabbits from enjoying our basil and lettuce. I do enjoy the produce we pick from the garden; we’ve got a real farm to table thing going on. Nothing tastes better to my husband than food he grew with his own hands.

Did I mention the tiki torches? My husband felt we needed tiki torches to keep the bugs away. We were now the proud owners of about twenty tiki torches which he strategically placed around our backyard. He refilled the torches regularly and ordered extra fluid just in case we ran out.

I have to give him credit where credit is due. He transformed our backyard into a tropical paradise. I sort of felt like I was in Hawaii except then I remembered I was in my backyard during a pandemic and not Hawaii.

I really hoped that he would win his war against nature. Because if he didn’t, I feared it would break him.

Why NBC4 NY’s Lynda Baquero is Proud to Call Northern Westchester Home

August 24, 2020 by Ella Ilan

The burbs got Baquero! Recovering close to six million dollars for consumers since 2013, our very own Northern Westchester resident Lynda Baquero and her “Better Get Baquero” team have brought much relief to aggrieved consumers. The talented NBC4 NY consumer reporter, Baquero, along with her husband and two teenage daughters relocated from Manhattan, where Baquero was born and raised, to our neck of the woods in 2015.

Reporter as Empathetic Investigator

With an ambitious pledge on their website to answer every call or email, the “Better Get Baquero” team seeks to help consumers who feel they have exhausted all means to resolve a consumer issue. Living up to their promise, all complaints submitted by the public are vetted by their Consumer Investigative Center, who after a thorough review and allowing companies ample time to respond, attempts to mediate and resolve the issue at hand. Even when there is no resolution, Baquero strives to provide a takeaway for her audience of a lesson that can be learned from someone’s experience.

Oftentimes, “people just want to be heard,” says Baquero, and after spending time on the phone flushing out their story, they may decide they got something out of it and prefer not to go on television. Sometimes after talking to Baquero and her team, they may realize the law is not on their side and then they learn something.

Baquero feels lucky in her role as consumer advocate. “What I love about this is that it’s really an opportunity to be involved directly with the viewer, and do something positive, rather than just reporting on a situation,” she says.

She has even “saved a few lives and resurrected some people,” says Baquero. A woman needing oxygen equipment was having an issue with her health insurance and literally running out of oxygen until Baquero and her team stepped in and called the insurer. “I can’t even explain how that feels…it’s very gratifying,” says Baquero. As far as resurrections, they have had several cases in which the social security administration has mistakenly declared someone dead and they have assisted these people in proving them to be alive.

Now, in the age of Covid-19, Baquero has provided essential information to her viewers about navigating our “new normal.” In recent segments, she has tackled applying for Paycheck Protection Program loans, obtaining mortgage relief, common mistakes made in unemployment applications, budget management, procuring refunds for canceled travel, and frequently asked questions for families during this crisis. She has provided vital information needed now more than ever.

Although back in the office now, Baquero quickly adjusted to covering stories based from home when New York State shut down in mid-March. Donning masks, utilizing boom microphones, and conducting interviews outdoors along with her cameraman, Baquero continued to work throughout the pandemic reporting mainly from Westchester and Fairfield counties.

The segment airs every weekday at 4:45 pm and Baquero also reports the consumer news of the day during the next news hour.

Baquero also hosts the weekly series Visiones which highlights issues that affect the Hispanic community by presenting informational and inspirational conversations with community leaders and newsmakers on arts, education and health. Visiones airs on Saturdays on Weekend Today in New York at 6:45 am.

A Career Born in High School

Baquero began cultivating her passion for investigative journalism as a young 12-year-old high school freshman. After winning a school competition involving producing a short newscast, Baquero “got the bug” and was drawn in by the opportunity to meet interesting people and have unique experiences. At 14-years-old, she had her own public access cable television show that aired on Paragon Cable and Manhattan Cable, the two cable outlets in Manhattan at that time. She did this for four years with her father as her cameraman, editor, lighting and technical director. Later, while attending New York University, she worked at Channel 47, now part of Telemundo, where she wrote and co-produced various Spanish-language specials. She then went on to work as an associate producer at WCAU-TV, Philadephia. Subsequently, at WCBS-TV, she worked her way up in the newsroom to associate producer of the consumer action segment Troubleshooter. Afterwards, she worked at the local cable news network, NY1 News, as anchor, consumer reporter, and video journalist responsible for researching, writing, shooting and editing her own stories.

Baquero joined NBC4 from NY1 and has been with NBC4 in a variety of prominent positions. She has co-anchored NBC 4’s Weekend Today in New York, “News 4 New York at 6 P.M. with David Ushery and “NewsChannel 4 at 6 P.M. with Chuck Scarborough. She has also served as host of the nationally broadcast business program, Hispanics Today.

The recipient of two Emmy Awards, Baquero received one in 1998 for “Religious Programming” for her coverage of the Pope’s visit to Cuba, and another in 2006 for “Best Evening Newscast” with Chuck Scarborough.

Discussing her inspiration, Baquero says she always looked up to Barbara Walters, who was a “no-nonsense, strong woman who was able to accomplish so much professionally and balance everything in her life.”

Striking a Balance

Baquero has managed to deftly balance it all, achieving professional excellence while creating a beautiful family. Television reporters are notorious for keeping odd hours and Baquero is no exception.

“We’re a 24-hour business, 365 days a year. I work holidays, late nights, and I’ve worked weekends for fifteen years. Thank goodness my husband is patient, wonderful and supportive. I can’t get to every family function or school production, but I knew that going in so I manage as best I can and take it as it comes.”

As far as being present for her daughters, Baquero admits it is challenging and she has to pick and choose her battles. “There are times I fight to leave work early to attend an event and other times I tell my daughter ‘I’m sorry I can’t make that concert but I promise I will be at the next one.’” To compensate, she has dedicated special days to each daughter to make them feel extra special and takes a “girls trip” with them every year.

Baquero is an inspirational role model for her daughters, showing them a real life example of how hard work can make one’s dreams a reality. “I hope they understand that if they set their minds to a goal and work hard, they can have choices and really shoot for the moon. I hope they realize perhaps what women like myself have gone through and what we’ve been able to do and they can do that and much more.”

As for the glamour, “I explain to them that not everyone has hair and makeup in their office. I love that they’re nonplussed and they know this is mom’s job, her passion, her way of helping other people, and something she had to work really hard for. I hope also that seeing me on television accepting an Emmy and then in my pajamas at home without makeup eating popcorn teaches them that people they see on the screen or on social media are presenting their public persona, but they are real people too,” says Baquero.

Choosing Westchester

Although a city girl at heart, Baquero has really embraced country living. She enjoys her large vegetable garden, frequents the farmers market, takes advantage of the hiking trails, and enrolls her daughters in horseback riding lessons.

When choosing the perfect locale in the suburbs, the Baqueros were drawn in by Northern Westchester’s top-notch schools, a major priority for them, the easy commute to the city, and the beauty and tranquility here.

“I’m so grateful we have the best of both worlds; the hustle and bustle of the city during the day and then we get to come home to this peaceful environment that still feels cosmopolitan with great restaurants and a very vibrant community.”

Baquero feels blessed to have ended up in this small community. As appreciative as she was with everyone’s warmth and neighborly reception when she first moved here, she truly felt the support of her neighbors throughout this Covid crisis. “Everyone reached out to see if we needed anything, if they could get us anything from the market, and just to check in on us.”

Baquero and her husband have made the best of the commute to the city. His interior design business, Richard A. Baquero Interior Design, is located close to her office. Driving together whenever they can, they use the time to catch up, make plans, and de-stress after a long day.

“He has been my biggest supporter, even with my crazy schedule. He is really my rock and we have fun together. People see us yapping at a restaurant and think ‘you’ve been together 29 years–what do you still have to talk about?’” laughs Baquero. “He’s my buddy.”

“We have been more grateful than ever for moving out here, even though we love and miss our city. We’ve been trying to do our part in helping the local restaurants through this pandemic by ordering out at least once a week and giving them some business. We were so happy to support our local hospital and frontline workers by donating to a meal train for the doctors. It feels really great to be part of such a small and caring community.”

Serving the greater community has always been important to Baquero. She serves on her local school board’s foundation and has also served on the Board of Directors of Let’s Get Ready, an educational non-profit. She has also worked with NBC and Telemundo on their Clear the Shelters pet adoption campaign, where they partner with shelters in the tri-state area to try and find forever homes for the pets. Close to home, she has reported live from Adopt-A-Dog in Armonk showing the available pets. This year, Clear the Shelters had a virtual campaign throughout the month of August to practice safe social distancing.

She has also worked with NBC on their annual Feeding Our Families community project, one of the largest multi-state food drives in the northeast that partners with food pantries and Stop and Shop supermarkets. Baquero has always made an appearance at the Stop and Shop in Mount Kisco to support this event. This year, food banks were particularly hit hard due to Covid, so NBC and Baquero’s efforts were crucial. To practice social distancing, the event was made into an online giving event, supporting nine tri-state food banks, including Feeding Westchester. Baquero promoted the event through social media.

Baquero is always “on the go.” Asked when she finally felt like “I’ve arrived,” she responds, “Never. Life is always about having the next goal or the next dream so I don’t take anything for granted. I’m grateful but I still think there’s more to do. I don’t know what’s ahead but I’m ready to take it on.”