Q: Where did the phrase “the Baron way” originate from?
A: “1981, back when I was in high school here, the [staff and students] used the phrase, ‘the Baron way’ as a guideline of how you acted. They would say, there is the wrong way and there is ‘the Baron way.’ It was kind of a joke, but it stuck. Everybody would always say, that is the Baron way,’ and that is why I talk about it now. It is about being a good person, doing the right thing, making the right decisions, working hard, [showing] character and being polite. It is about sportsmanship, when you play sports, how you act when something bad happens or if something good happens. It is about core elements of behavior, and being a good person. Because lots of times people think that it is only about getting straight A’s, but it really is not. It is about the whole person. The reason why I brought it back was because I always remembered it as a kid. Even as a young adult when I went to college, I always thought about it. When I had my own kids, even with my three boys, I always talked to them about [those] characteristics. All those skills and traits that define being a good person are ‘the Baron way’, there is not one word for it.”
Q: How do you contribute personally to “the Baron way” outside of BVH?
A: “For my whole life, I was not the smartest kid in the world. […] For some reason academics did not click with me, and [it] was really challenging. But, I was a good and nice person. So even outside of work I always try to live my life doing the right thing. If I stop at a light, and I am a little bit behind someone, I always wave them on and let them go ahead of me. I always open the door for strangers. I always make an attempt to talk to people and say hi to people. I do [things such as] care for my neighbors and I do not throw trash on the ground. I believe that even outside of school I live a life resembling ‘the Baron way.’”
Q: How do you see students representing “the Baron way” at BVH?
A: “As a principle you have to be able to lead and push something that is important to you. Because as a leader, if you are an honorable person, people will follow or you will have influence on people. So, acting like I do, will reflect and encourage people to do the same when they are outside of and at school. The students that go and do the right thing are friendly to the people at Starbucks or Jamba Juice and purchase something. [They] leave [without] just hanging out there and do dumb things. There are a few that have not figured out ‘the Baron way’ yet. But the majority of students have embraced it and know that it is something that we expect everyone to do not only in school, but at home. Outside of school, a couple students, when they see me on the streets [they] always yell, “Hey, Romero, ‘the Baron way.’ They say it in a jokey way, but the cool thing about it [is that] they are thinking of it. So, they must be living it if they know that it is something that is important to me.”
Q: Why do you emphasize the importance of “the Baron way” so often?
A: “Because you can never hear it enough. If I say it every single time, or hashtag it on all my Instagrams, people will remember that about me. [I want them to] see me as a guy that is going to pick up trash every day, that is smiling, that says good morning to you if you walk in or say something positive to you. I want them to know that when they see me, they equate my face to ‘the Baron way’ of doing something positive. But what I want them to know is that, my purpose, my vision, what I truly believe in is ‘the Baron way’ and doing the right thing. And so if that is all people remember or know about me, I have accomplished my biggest task here as a principal.”
Q: What message do you hope students will receive from hearing this phrase so often and even later on in life?
A: “We all have a purpose in life. When I was retired, I kind of just did my own thing, and I was not in the limelight of being a principal. But now that I am back to being a principal, and people see me in the community, I want them to believe that my life purpose is to encourage people. [I want them] to do the right thing, work hard and to be good members of society out there. You see news of lots of people doing the wrong things all the time. What you do not see is the 95 percent of people that do the right [and] wonderful things every single day. So whether I am here saying it, or outside the community, my purpose is really to share that positive message of doing the right thing here. I want people to believe that students [who] go to the school, call themselves Barons and [that] means they are good people and they will do the right thing not only in school, but outside the school.”
Q: How do you think statements or phrases like “the Baron way” can change the environment of a school campus?
A: “I believe I am having a positive influence on everybody because everybody on this campus [hears] me say it, they may not know quite what it means, but they know it equates to something being positive.”
Q: How do you think it changes students’ attitudes while at school?
A: “It is tougher growing up as [a] kid nowadays with all [of] the pressures of looking, acting and being certain things. Sometimes there is this fake image out there and social media of how you are supposed to look and act. As adults, we know we have a purpose to do the right thing and share positivity. So if kids walk away from the school and they believe that I am all about being positive [through] this ‘Baron way,’ they equate ‘the Baron way’ to something positive. Everybody on this campus knows that, so I am in my own little way, having a big positive effect on this community. It warms my heart and makes me happy to think that people are interested in it. Everybody knows I say it, but they do not know what exactly it means.”
Q: Is there anything else you would like to add or something that you want students to know about?
A: “I have been here not even a year yet. I love working here. If people just remember me as ‘the Baron way’ [when I retire again], I know they are going to think something positive about it. It seems like I have been here a long time because my positive message has gone far. If you are coming in and trying to be a positive influence, it is a good thing. It is nothing that I have to shove down your throats. Everybody believes that there is goodness out there. I am just highlighting it for everybody.”
