Helen Balilo

She began her educational career as a teacher at Piney Point Elementary School, Tall Timbers, Maryland, a school that serviced a large percentage of dependents from Patuxent River Naval Air Station.     

Ms. Balilo began her career with DoWEA in 1990. During her tenure as a DoWEA teacher, Ms. Balilo taught Kindergarten at Grissom Elementary School, Clark Air Base, Philippines, Second Grade at Shirley Lanham Elementary School, Astugi Naval Air Facility, Japan, and Kindergarten at Bob Hope Primary School, Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. 

Ms. Balilo’s first administrative assignment was as an Assistant Principal at Smith Elementary School in Baumholder, Germany. A position she proudly held for three years. During her tenure at Smith Elementary School, Ms. Balilo initiated and organized numerous professional learning opportunities offered to teachers within the Baumholder school complex. Ms. Balilo was selected as the 2004-2005 Kaiserslautern District Assistant Principal of the Year. 

Ms. Balilo became the Principal of Wetzel Elementary School in Baumholder, Germany in August 2005.  While assigned as the principal of Wetzel Elementary School, Ms. Balilo received the 2010 PDK Distinguished Service in Public Administration Award, the NAESP 2010 National Distinguished Principal Award and was also honored to serve as the DoWEA Principal of the Year.  Ms. Balilo became the Principal of Bechtel Elementary School in August 2011. During her time at Bechtel, she worked with her staff to promote active parent partnerships and create an environment focused on collaboration, student success and shared leadership. 

Ms. Balilo was stationed in Puerto Rico where she served as the Assistant District Superintendent for the NY/VA & Puerto Rico District from August 2012-June 2014.  She transitioned to the Quantico, VA office and was named NY/VA Community Superintendent for the Americas Mid-Atlantic District in 2016-2024.

Ms. Balilo is a native of Canvas, West Virginia, and comes from a family of educators.  She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education from Glenville State College, Glenville, WV and later a Master of Science in Educational Leadership from the Troy State University, Troy, Alabama extension on Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. 

Ms. Balilo has devoted her career to maximizing opportunities for student success.  She believes that the greatest gift we can give a child is to encourage them to become lifelong learners. Throughout her career, Ms. Balilo has served as an advocate for student success and building leadership capacity for educators.  She shared “I am excited to serving DoWEA in this new capacity as a member of the Center for Instructional Leadership (CIL) Team. I look forward to helping advance DoWEA’s Mission to Educate, Engage and Empower military-connected students to succeed in a dynamic world, by ensuring educational leaders have the support they need to be successful.”