Despite being principal of a school with a very high poverty rate, Marco Ramirez has helped students at Pueblo Gardens Elementary School in Tucson become the district's top achievers. His almost entirely Hispanic student population scored 11 percent above the district average in math and posted an 8 percent gain in reading mastery on the state assessment. During the 2004-2005 school year, Pueblo Gardens was the state's only Title I school to be designated a Highly Performing School. Mr. Ramirez has helped achieve this success in part by supporting his teachers' use of technology to differentiate instruction and enhance learning, and ensuring that all teachers are trained in the SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) approach to delivering the curriculum. In addition to his school leadership, Mr. Ramirez is an educational consultant, has served on the Arizona Department of Education's Best Practices Conference Committee, and has presented at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). His school's low teacher turnover and high student achievement are living proof of Mr. Ramirez's excellence as an educator.
