He walks the halls. "Tuck your shirt in and pull up your pants," he says to one young man, who has his pants hanging on his waist and his shirt hanging out. As soon as this student has obeyed, he sees another student with his hat on. "Take your hat off," he says with a smile, but using a firm tone. The young man quickly yanks off his hat and holds it by his side.

This is a normal workday in the life of Andrey L. Bundley, principal of Walbrook High School USA. "I have to walk the halls everyday to arrest the environment," he says.

And his style of managing by walking around has certainly worked. When you walk the halls, the environment is peaceful. The hallways are clean and students walk orderly as they go to their next class.

Making A Difference In Education Under the leadership of Dr. Bundley, the graduation rate of Walbrook High School students increased from 40 percent to 85 percent -- the highest graduation rate in the city. How did this 42-year-old - one of the youngest principals in the state of Maryland - get to be an administrator for Baltimore City Public Schools? As an administrator for more than 15 years, he has helped educate 12,000 students, has supervised 16 middle managers and has managed up to $5 million in an operating budget.

Many life experiences have more then prepared him for his road in life. His mother died when he was 13 and he has lived in five foster homes. He moved with his aunt to Baltimore from Philadelphia in 1973. When he experienced life on the streets and saw that this lifestyle did not promise him a future, he decided to turn his energy to Education. After attending Southwestern High School and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, he then completed his bachelor of science degree in Special Education from Coppin State College. He went on to receive a master's and doctorate degrees in Education from Pennsylvania State University.

Prior to joining Walbrook, Bundley was principal of Greenspring Middle School. When he became principal of Greenspring, at 33, he was the youngest principal in the state of Maryland. He has been in the educational arena for nearly 20 years, working as a counselor, teacher, instructor, academic advisor, and as assistant principal at Harlem Park Middle School and Thurgood Marshall Middle School in Prince George's County.

Dr. Andrey Bundley with his extended family.

While working in Prince George's, Bundley was approached by then Baltimore City Public Schools Superintendent Walter Amprey to head one of the city's schools and focus on developing a Character School. "Character Schools focus on basic principals such as Destiny, Truth, Consciousness and Being Your Brother's Keeper," he explains. "You emphasize character on location in students' behavior and attitudes."

While this concept was never officially fully developed in Baltimore City Public Schools, Bundley did become principal of Greenspring, and the Character School concept has remained with him and has become the foundation from which Bundley leads and operates a school.

He plans to bring these characters to his next step -- City Hall as Mayor for the City of Baltimore. After being approached by a group of individuals who asked him to run, he said that he felt compelled to run. "I want to improve the quality of life for our youth," he said.

His work in the school system has more than prepared him to work in the world of City Government. The school system has been his training ground and Bundley's work with youth has helped him formulate many of the ideas he plans to enforce while in City Government. Of course, he plans to focus on Education.

"You have to tie Education to the City's vision and the City's vision has to support Education. We're going to redefine Education. Education is housing. Education is employment…For instance, if a new business moves to Baltimore, their employees need to be involved in Education. Every entity - from corporations to government - will be involved in Education, and out of Education comes Economic Development," he said.

To foster Economic Development in our communities, he wants to establish Enterprise Zones, where companies in certain neighborhoods will hire employees from those communities. He also wants to set up Career Centers for individuals who may have been in recovery homes, or are ex-offenders. "We need to give them a second chance…We have to lead people to a place where they can be more productive," he said. Through the Career Centers - or a concept that he is calling "Community Education" -- he wants to create a training corps of 1,000 men and women who will police Baltimore's neighborhoods. In addition to employment, these individuals can get educational opportunities through these Career Centers.

"Education means to lead out…My business is Education…My business is leadership…I plan to lead our City out and to the next level through Education," he said.

Bundley has been a leader and role model for many. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards such as the "Lift Every Voice and Sing Educator of the Year" award and the "Certificate of Appreciation" from the State's Attorney's Office for the City of Baltimore. He was featured on CBS as a recipient of the Gold 13 Salute given to a community activist. He also is the recipient of the Elijah Cummings "U Turn Award" and the Ray of Hope Award from Black Professional Men, Inc. for being a role model for African American youths.

The Bundley Family

He is a family man and is married to Shelia Bundley. The couple has one son, Dreyan Bundley. He is an active member of Bethel A.M.E. Church, is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, is active in many of his son's athletic events, and is vice chairman of The People Plan, Inc. He is an accomplished public speaker and has been the keynote speaker at various graduations and conferences.

Not only has he had a dramatic impact on the schools that he leads, but he has also had a profound impact on many of the students that he serves. His students each have a story to tell, and many credit Bundley with their success. Shlethia Speight, 17, came to Walbrook with many 'issues.' She said she had a lot of anger built up inside of her, but Bundley helped her work through her 'issues'. "If I had trouble, Doc was always there. Doc helped me. He pushed me to want to make something of myself," she said. Bundley helped her to get to the root of her anger, and pushed her to think about her future. Upon graduating, she plans to attend college and major in Criminal Justice. She wants to become a correctional officer.

Mandela Nelson, a 12th grader, named after the South African activist Nelson Mandela, said he had big shoes to fill, having such a prominent name. "Bundley's been there and he knows what we're going through," he said. "I lacked motivation. He would see me in the hallways and kept giving me more chances to get myself together."

"He tries to influence us to be the best that we can be," said Chavez Campbell, another 12th grade student. "Tough love -- he gives it to us." "He's the best principal that we've ever had," Speight said. The other students all agreed. One of the philosophies that he has in life is that you must work with your head, your hands and your heart. The students all agreed that he uses all three. "He's passionate, loving, caring, not selfish and has good character," said Campbell.

Being honest, passionate, and a visionary, without a shadow of a doubt, Bundley will govern the City of Baltimore and lead Baltimore to the next level.