Richard Ramos, Fellow

Northridge Middle School

Los Angeles, CA

Richard S. Ramos was born and raised in the Indigenous/Chicano communities of Los Angeles. Richard always felt like "a square peg in a round hole," resulting in run-ins with authorities, teachers, and police. He ended up in continuation school and later became wrapped up in juvenile hall. "I didn't like school," he would say. While at CSUN, he became keenly aware of the issues related to race, equity, power, and colorism. Richard's experiences culminated in his realization that "I could make a difference." So, in 1999, while working as a teacher, he decided to campaign for the city council. He was elected, and Richard was soon successful in bringing a world-class library and redeveloping blighted areas, further honing his organizing skills. Richard believes we need third-way solutions to pressing societal issues to create lasting empowerment for the communities of color we serve. "We can't continue to replicate what hasn't worked." In his first principalship, Richard held house meetings with stakeholders to lift Haddon Elementary; he rebranded the school and made academic gains earning media attention. Later, Richard led Northridge Medical Magnet toward the Magnet Schools of America School of Excellence. He believes schools of color deserve educational excellence at all costs. In March of 2022, Richard was featured in the book "Schools on the Move" by Jay Westover for his work on building coherence and developing leadership teams. Richard continues his activism in and outside the school for empowerment and social change to uplift the community.

In January of 2023, Richard's school was recognized as a School of Distinction, a national merit award by the Magnet Schools of America.

Nerina Facio, Ally

Assistant Principal
Northridge Middle School

Los Angeles, CA

Nerina Facio is a "kids first" school improvement leader. As the daughter of immigrant parents, she witnessed first-hand the lack of resources impeding the Latino experience in Los Angeles. Emboldened by her parents' lives, Nerina dedicated herself to “challenging the false narratives" that BIPOC experiences in society. As a means to improving students’ educational experiences, Nerina turned her values into a career in education confronting resource inequities and achievement gaps among student subgroups. Her journey began as a teacher of SWD and after 11 years, she served as bridge coordinator over special education, questioning antiquated practices and retooling systems to ensure compliance with federal and state guidelines. She continued to develop her instructional leadership skills as the Title I and English Learner advisor, she created a reclassification academy resulting in a 30% RFEP rate. More recently, she coalesced staff in adopting a school-wide commitment to the implementation of Hattie’s influencers, teacher clarity, formative assessments, and classroom discussions, proven to have the most impact on student learning. Currently, Nerina is the Assistant Principal of Instruction. She has been instrumental in implementing a school-wide cycle of inquiry sharpened through her participation and professional development with InnovateED. Nerina created a "coherence" framework around lesson planning and learning rounds for continuous improvement across grade levels. Nerina says, "Regardless of language classification, race, or cognitive abilities, students are resilient, rising to and above the high expectations we set." She is a servant-leader; resolute in her mission to cultivate “collective efficacy” and empower all students.