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 ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
from
Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered research 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 sc ...
.


Early years

Ramos' mother, Maria Monserrate, was born in
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Mayagüez (, ) is a city and the eighth-largest municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez, and is also known as ''La Sultana del Oeste'' (The Sultaness of the West), ''Ciudad de las Aguas Pura ...
. His father, Miguel Ángel Ramos, was born in Vieques, Puerto Rico. After his parents married, they moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. 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 College is a private, Catholic, liberal arts university in the Bronx, New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Christian Brothers) as an academy for day students, it was la ...
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 Lexington School and Center for the Deaf comprises the Lexington School for the Deaf, the Lexington Hearing and Speech Center, Lexington Vocational Services, and the Lexington Center for Mental Health in New York City, aimed at serving the deaf an ...
, 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 colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by c ...
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 system in California. With 23 campuses and eight off-campus centers enrolling 485,550 students with 55,909 faculty and staff, CSU is the largest four-year public univers ...
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 research 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 sc ...
in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
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. 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 fall of 2021, th ...
in
Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat, seat of government of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur, Texas, Port Arthur Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, metropo ...
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. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...


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 and largest city of Gooding County, Idaho, Gooding County, Idaho, United States. The population was 3,567 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The city is named for Frank R. Gooding, a local sheep rancher who ...
. 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 ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
with two campuses — in
Mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by ...
and
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
. 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 university administrator who served as the 21st governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009 and third United States secretary of homeland security from 2009 to 20 ...
, 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 Hawaii School for the Deaf and the Blind (HSDB) is a public school for deaf and blind children in Honolulu, Hawaii. Operated by the Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE), it has grades K–12. All of the teachers are certified in American sign ...
.


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 research 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 sc ...
.


See also

* List of Puerto Ricans


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramos, Angel 1949 births Living people Puerto Rican educators Puerto Rican people 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