Ángel Ramos (educator)
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Ángel Ramos (born December 30, 1949) is an educator, school administrator, and current principal of Hawaii School for the Deaf and the Blind. He was the founder of the National Hispanic Council of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. He formerly served Superintendent of the Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind, Sequoia School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf. He is the second deaf Hispanic/Latino to receive a doctorate degree and the first to receive a
doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
from
Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered university in Washington, D.C., for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first school ...
.


Early years

Ramos' mother, Maria Monserrate, was born in
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Mayagüez (, ) is the ninth-largest Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez (Township of Virgin of Candelaria, Our Lady of Candelaria), and is also ...
. His father, Miguel Ángel Ramos, was born in
Vieques, Puerto Rico Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island, Culebra barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico, and together with Culebra, Puerto Rico, Culebra, it is geographically part of the Spanish Virgin ...
. After his parents married, they moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. When Monserrate became pregnant with Ángel, her husband demanded that she have an abortion or he would divorce her. Monserrate refused and the pair divorced shortly after Ramos's birth. As a result, Ramos and his sister were raised solely by his mother, who worked as a seamstress. They grew up in housing projects in Manhattan, along with a number of relatives. Ramos attended public school. In 1959, when Ramos was nine years old, he woke up one morning and could not hear. As a Catholic, he thought God had punished him and hid his hearing loss from his mother for two years. He succeeded in school since he could already read and write in English and Spanish, and was able to follow directions on the classroom blackboard and by reading his textbooks carefully. By 1961, he had learned to lip-read, helping him to graduate.


Academic education

Despite being poor and being raised by a single parent, Ramos was able to pursue a college education thanks to financial support from the NY Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. He graduated from
Manhattan College Manhattan University (previously Manhattan College) is a private, Catholic university in New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers (Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools) as an academy fo ...
in 1971 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics. Unable to find employment due to being deaf, he drove a taxi in New York City and until he was hired as a gym supervisor at Lexington School for the Deaf, with his only pay being room and board. Eventually, he became a teaching assistant at St. Joseph's School for the Deaf. Dissatisfied with his career and wanting a better future, Ramos applied for, and received, financial assistance from the NY Division of Vocational Rehabilitation to pursue a master's degree. He attended the
State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...
at Genesio where he earned a Master of Science degree in Education of the Deaf. After working at the New York School for the Deaf as a math teacher for three years, he received a full scholarship to the National Leadership Program at the
California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...
at Northridge where he earned a second master's degree in Educational Administration. After working at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and the Southwest Collegiate Institute for the Deaf for several years, he received another scholarship to pursue a doctorate degree in Educational Administration and Supervision from
Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered university in Washington, D.C., for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first school ...
in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
He became the first, and only, deaf Hispanic/Latino to receive a doctorate degree from Gallaudet in 1997. Ramos held a teaching position at
Lamar University Lamar University (Lamar or LU) is a public university in Beaumont, Texas, United States. Lamar has been a member of the Texas State University System since 1995. It was the flagship institution of the former Lamar University System. As of the ...
in
Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...
and was Director of the Gallaudet University Regional Center in Texas. During that time he received a Fulbright Scholar Award and was assigned to Colombia to improve the delivery of educational services to students who are deaf and hard of hearing. He is the founder the National Hispanic Council of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...


Superintendent of the Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind

On August 1, 2001, Ramos was hired as Superintendent of the Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind, located in
Gooding, Idaho Gooding is the county seat of and the largest city in Gooding County, Idaho, United States. The population was 3,716 at the 2020 census. The city is named for Frank R. Gooding, a local sheep rancher who became a prominent political figure i ...
. The executive director of the Idaho State Board of Education, Dr. Gregory Fitch, instructed Ramos to change the "custodial" school to an "educational" school. After Dr. Fitch resigned as executive director, some long-time employees of the school, dissatisfied with the changes Ramos was making at the school and preferring the old custodial model, convinced the Idaho State Board of Education to take steps to remove Ramos as superintendent, On July 30, 2003, the State BOE put Ramos on administrative leave due to allegations that he illegally sold state surplus property, that he had a conflict of interest in preferential hiring, and that he had retaliated against detractors. Supporters of Ramos stated that he raised the bar of education in the school and, in September 2003, a group of students demonstrated on the school lawn in support of Ramos. After a year long administrative leave and court hearing, Ramos was exonerated of all charges. The State Board of Education was ordered to reinstate Ramos as superintendent and to support Ramos in his efforts to change the school from a custodial school to an educational school. Left with a legal bill of $80,000, Ramos agreed not to sue the State Board of Education in exchange for a $180,000 settlement and resigning his position as superintendent.


Later years

After moving to Arizona In 2004, Ramos was appointed Superintendent of Sequoia School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, a charter school in
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
with two campuses — in
Mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge, or hill, bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and standing distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks, such as shales, capped by a ...
and Phoenix. Ramos transformed the school from an underperforming school to one of the few "Performing" schools for students who are Deaf and hard of hearing in the country. For his efforts in transforming SSDHH into a "Performing" school, he was recognized as Administrator of the Year and Principal of the Year. While Ramos was Superintendent of Sequoia Deaf School, the then-Governor of Arizona,
Janet Napolitano Janet Ann Napolitano (; born November 29, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and academic administrator. She served as president of the University of California from 2013 to 2020, on the faculty at the Goldman School of Public Policy at t ...
, appointed Ramos as a commissioner on the Arizona Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. The Assistant Secretary of Education later appointed Ramos to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf National Advisory Group. After seven years at Sequoia Deaf School, on July 30, 2011, the New Jersey Commissioner of Education, Dr. Christopher Cerf, appointed Ramos as Superintendent of the Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf (MKSD) in NJ, with instructions to transform the school into an educational school. For three years he worked closely with Commissioner Cerf to transform the school until Cerf's resignation in 2015. With Cerf's departure, the vision for MKSD changed focus, and, unwilling to work in this new climate, Ramos retired on June 30, 2015. Shortly after his retirement, Ramos created the first and only virtual school for students who are deaf and hard of hearing, The Princeton School, with the goal of providing supplemental assistance to schools and VR in their effort to help these students be successful adults. Ramos is currently the principal of the Hawaii School for the Deaf and the Blind.


Writing

In 2003, Ramos published "''Triumph of the Spirit: The DPN Chronicle''", about the history of deaf students at
Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered university in Washington, D.C., for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first school ...
.


See also

*
List of Puerto Ricans This is a list of notable people from Puerto Rico which includes people who were born in Puerto Rico (Borinquen) and people who are of full or partial Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican descent. Puerto Rican citizens are included, as the governm ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramos, Angel 1949 births Living people Puerto Rican educators Puerto Rican people with disabilities Educators with disabilities Manhattan College alumni American deaf people Educators of the deaf Gallaudet University alumni State University of New York at Geneseo alumni Deaf educators Educators of the blind