School Profile

Dr. Charel Bailey is an experienced educator and administrator who was appointed principal of Norma Coombs Elementary School in Pasadena, California, effective July 1, 2025. She brings over 15 years of experience in K–12 and higher education, with a strong background in school counseling, student support services, and community engagement. Dr. Bailey holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California, as well as degrees in Communication Studies from California State University, Long Beach, and in School Counseling Leadership and Education Administration from California State University, Los Angeles. 

We are a strong, unified and very diverse community. We are a reading and literacy-focused campus – we READ, READ, READ. In 2016 we were awarded a California State Gold Ribbon Award for our Balanced Literacy and Reading programs. As well, we won a Title 1 Academic Achievement Award for our success towards closing the achievement gap. We are well-known for our signature programs which include Ceramics classes for all students, taught by an Artist-in-Residence, music classes for students in 2-5 grades, a robust GATE program, small group support of our English Language Learners, which has resulted in a greater than 20% re-designation rate, and the GATE Innovation Club. Norma Coombs benefits from partnerships with FranklinCovey -The Leader in Me, Scholastic Book Fairs and the Columbia Teacher’s College Writing Project (TCRWP). The level of parent engagement at Norma Coombs is phenomenal, with over 5000 hours logged each year, over the past four years. Parents volunteer in and out of the classroom and help put on a variety of events including the Fall Festival, Spring Fling, Science Literacy Night, Family Reading Night, family dine-out nights, cultural potlucks and book fairs.

We have a myriad of programs at NCES. However, our MTSS Coach, Mrs. Tovar leads the mission on Social Emotional Learning. Mrs. Tovar goes into the classrooms and delivers the SEL lessons through a program called “Second Step.” This year we are able to offer PE to every student which is taught by Ms. Cruz on Thursdays and Fridays. Norma Coombs is a Model Independent Reading school, partnered with Scholastic Book Fairs, which focuses on building literacy, fostering independence, and helping students develop skills that will make them highly literate and productive members of society. Our teaching staff is an experienced, knowledgeable and diverse group who share the same goal: to provide our students with a well-rounded, rigorous education that is grounded in the California Common Core Standards and 21st Century Skills. We are well-known for our signature programs which include Ceramics classes for all students, coding and choir programs, music classes for students in grades 2-5, a robust GATE program, small group support of our English Language Learners, and Innovation (GATE) Club. Norma Coombs is led by Mr. Raymond Cross, who believes that a wide variety of experiences augment the literacy focus, and thus our students participate in multiple field trips within the community and beyond, throughout the school year.

Scholastic Book Fairs, Pasadena Education Foundation (PEF), Huntington Learning Center, Kona Ice

• Grades Served: Pre-K; TK -5
• Number of Students: 393
• Year Founded: 1972