Staff Spotlight: Edgar Ramirez
Edgar Ramirez is the Bilingual Family Support Specialist at Pitkin Elementary School. In his role, he serves as a connection between the school and its families making sure they have the resources, information and support they need.
“Every day I come here looking forward to seeing all the kids, seeing all the families. It feels so good to be able to be that person that they’re counting on you. You’re there for them and they feel confident telling you about what’s going on,” said Ramirez.
Ramirez starts his day greeting students as they get to school, and takes every opportunity to check in with them throughout the day. Through these interactions, he builds trusting relationships with the students and is able to give extra support to any child who may need it.
“Sometimes I get to have conversations with them and I get to know stuff that nobody else probably knew about,” explained Ramirez. “But after that, they’ll engage more in school. They’ll be like looking forward to it. The kids will give me a high five, they’ll say, “Hey, Mr. Ramirez!” It’s just a matter of being there for them.”
The goal through those interactions is to ensure children want to come to school every day and do their best. As part of his job duties, Ramirez makes phone calls home when children don’t attend school and haven’t been excused.
He said, “I’ll see what’s happening, I’ll emphasize with them because I know things happen. But we’re here to support and give them the best we can, so they feel secure and they feel confident to come to school every day.”
Being bilingual, he’s able to establish an additional connection to the Spanish speaking families in the Pitkin community and serve as a bridge between those families and their teachers if they are struggling to communicate.
“They just feel I’m somebody that they can actually trust and express their concerns or thoughts, and they know that they are going to be heard,” said Ramirez.
He said, “Sometimes they just need something and they don’t know how to ask for it or they don’t know what to do. So I’ll get them all the information I can and help them out. I’ll print it out, I’ll email it. I’ll do whatever works for them to ensure that they have the best resources and tools available.”
Principal Bea Corrado says Ramirez has had a “remarkable impact” on the school community. From doing home visits to check in on families to gathering donations and resources for family engagement events, Ramirez will do whatever he can to get the Pitkin community what they need.
Corrado says he even supports the school staff. After completing an internship with the East Hartford Public Schools Information Technology (IT) Department, he often provides technical support to teachers and staff that need help.
“There is so much that Edgar brings to our school community,” said Corrado. “He is just an incredible resource.”