Angel Ramos, Ph.D.
Executive Director of Angel Ramos Foundation, Inc.
Education
B.S. in Mathematics
Manhattan College in New York
M.S. in Education
State University of New York
M.S. in Educational Administration
California State University, Northridge
Ph.D. in Special Education Administration
Gallaudet University
A MAN TO FOLLOW
Angel Ramos
by Stan Griffin, Deaf Friends International Special Contributor
Young
people need positive role models, men or women to hold up as examples and to
pattern themselves after. For one particular group, such ideals are
difficult to find. If you are young, deaf, and Hispanic, there are
very few leaders who can correctly be described as role models. One man
who is eminently qualified to lead by example is Angel Ramos, one of only a few
deaf Hispanics with a doctorate. On August 1 of this year
(2001) Dr. Ramos, at age 51, was named superintendent of the
Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind.
The school is located in Gooding, Idaho. It has
approximately 110 students at the local campus and serves over 700 additional
students through satellite centers in other parts of the state.
Its staff consists of about 100 people, including 26 faculty
members. I.S.D.B. is free to eligible blind, visually impaired, deaf or
hard of hearing students from birth to 21. Their mission is to provide
"an ideal and creative learning environment" for students. It's
possible for them to work toward "academic excellence, . . .
(developing) positive self esteem and social skills (and) ... (reaching)
their potential ..."
Some of the school's services are "hearing
diagnostic evaluation and consultation, speech and languages, ... physical
and occupational therapies, consultative and direct services to preschoolers,
and resources for financial assistance for hearing aid purchases."
Almost 40 percent of the high school deaf students
are Hispanic. The selection of Dr. Ramos gives them a close-up look
at a man who has achieved much in a world with many barriers for his people.
One of the screening committee that recommended him for the
I.S.D.B. position said this about him: " ... I don't think he was
afraid of trying new things ... He was going to put the students first and
involve people in the community ... He has a personality that (draws) people to
him ..."
A former colleague speaking of Ramos said:
" ... (He is) willing to work with people to find
mutually agreeable solutions to common problems ..."
Angel Ramos was born with hearing. He moved with
his parents from Puerto Rico to New York City. His parents divorced shortly
after and his mother supported him and his sister by working as a seamstress.
They lived "dirt poor" with a number of relatives " and
some cockroaches" in a crowded tenement building.
One morning at age nine, Angel woke up and
couldn't hear a thing. To this day, he doesn't know what happened. At
the time he believed it was "an act of God", that "
... He was punishing me ..." He told no one for two years, not even his
mother.
Luckily Ramos had already learned to read and write in
English, his second language. At school, he hid his impairment by
following written directions on the blackboard and reading textbooks
carefully. By age 11 he was able to learn lip reading rather
easily, and that helped him "get by" in elementary school and
then in high school.
When Ramos decided to attend college (Manhattan College
in New York), he found the work there not so easy to manage. Teachers did
not always follow their texts, and there weren't any special interpreters for
the deaf. Of that period, Ramos says: " ... People ...
made me feel inferior ... because I was deaf ... even though I was a very
smart person ... " At age 22 he learned sign language.
Dr. Ramos graduated from Manhattan with a 2.0 grade
point average and a bachelor of science degree in mathematics. At that
time he was unable to find any job other than driving a taxi. He got this
position partly because his employer's daughter was deaf. Ramos' goal was
to become involved in education; and he finally "got his foot in the
door" when he was accepted at a deaf school as an evening gym supervisor.
It paid no salary, only room and board; but he was able to prove himself
to be a "good worker." This led to a day job as a teacher aide
at another school for the deaf.
This job reinforced his
desire to become a teacher. Without any encouragement from anyone, Ramos
went to graduate school at the State University of New York with financial
assistance from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. There he eventually
earned a master of science degree in education of the deaf. Before
he finished his career as a student, he earned two more degrees: a master
of science in educational administration from California State
University in Northridge; and finally his doctorate in special education
administration from Gallaudet University in Washington, D. C. His
dissertation was on the subject of the educational discrepancy among
Hispanic and Anglo deaf students.
In spite of his hearing difficulties, Dr.
Ramos has tried (very successfully) to look on the bright side. He cites
three examples: (1) In high school his friends would go out at
nights and many of them became involved in drugs. Ramos was unable to read
lips after dark so he went home and did his homework! He maintains that he
could have ended up a drug addict were it not for the hearing problem. (2)
During the Vietnam War, Ramos had a high draft number; but because of his
hearing, he was exempted. Had he been sent overseas, he very
well could have been killed or maimed. (3) Had he been hearing, he would not
have been able to attend college as his mother was barely able to support the
family and no one in his family had ever attended college. Due to being deaf,
Vocational Rehabilitation paid for his college education and made it possible
for him to pursue a career in education.
Among the teaching positions Ramos held was one at Lamar
University in Beaumont, Texas. He was also a Fulbright Scholar, author,
and chairman of various deaf organizations and projects. Additionally,
he was founder of the National Hispanic Council of the Deaf and Hard of
Hearing in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Ramos believes that " ... the majority culture
thinks that if you're not like them, you're not as good ..." and
that this not only holds true for the deaf but women, minorities, and
religions as well.
Dr. Ramos always acknowledges that part of his
success was due to Anglo hearing authorities who gave him opportunities. He
wants to make sure young people who leave I.S.D.B. have "skills to
get good jobs or go on to college." He also says, "I've never
... limited myself to working with just the Hispanic community or the deaf
community", and he emphasizes his hope that " ... (the students)
see me here, and .. have high expectations ..."
His schedule at I.S.D.B. is loaded with meetings and
paperwork. However, he tries to spend time with students as much as
possible. Ramos always hoped to have a large family of his own; but
as events in his personal life developed, he has one daughter.
He got his wish at school, however. He says: "My
children are here."