Ms. Ramos: An Interview with CI’s New Principal

As Channel Islands High School’s first female Filipino principal, Ms. Marianne Ramos holds a lot of responsibilities, especially in the wake of an ongoing pandemic.

Born in Oxnard, Ms. Ramos had to move often due to her father being part of the Navy. Growing up in a Filipino household, she was expected to become one of two things: a doctor or a lawyer. Choosing the latter, Ms. Ramos majored in history and minored in classics at the University of California Los Angeles so she could pursue a career in law. While in UCLA and deciding what to do as a profession, Ms. Ramos interned as a teacher assistant at Corinne A. Seeds Elementary, a school where UCLA teachers send their kids. It was at this elementary school where Ms. Ramos fell in love with teaching.

After choosing teaching as her career, Ms. Ramos taught at various schools for different grade levels and was also an ASB advisor. One day, she took up the opportunity to become a school counselor for 800 students. 

“It’s been one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had. Also one of the hardest,” Ms. Ramos said. 

After six years of working as a counselor, Ms. Ramos got her admin credentials and a masters degree, which meant that she was able to become a Vice Principal of Mira Costa High School. Later on, Ms. Ramos moved back to Oxnard because she wanted to be closer to her family and Filipino roots. 

“It was important for me to connect with my Filipino side,” said Ms. Ramos.

At CIHS, Ms. Ramos was an assistant principal. From there, she went to the district office as the director of Instructional Support Services, which allowed her to do what she loves most: organizing and planning things.  Being the director, she was in charge of planning the curriculum of ten schools and managed to bring student scores up by 30 percent.

Then, the pandemic hit and Ms. Ramos’s job description changed with the rest of the school system. She helped direct teachers and students with the transition of in person learning to online, despite the many difficulties that occurred in tune with the state of the world. 

As restrictions began to lift and students were allowed to return to school, Ms. Ramos became the new principal of CIHS. Ms. Ramos says a big reason as to why she applied for this position was because she loved CIHS, “I think CI should absolutely have the best of everything because CI is this school that’s so family culture based.” 

As the newest principal of Channel Islands High School, Ms. Ramos does many things to make sure that the students and staff of the school are safe and cared for. Since CIHS has gotten an influx of students, she is now working on providing enough classrooms and overall space to accommodate. She also makes sure that students and staff are wearing masks as a way to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Ms. Ramos wants to create a learning environment where students could feel safe in making mistakes, as well as making sure that there are more adults on campus to ensure the physical safety of both students and staff. 

Ms. Ramos said that her first goal as a principal is “… to make sure that every single student and staff member feels welcomed, safe and supported.”