Ramirez retires from Preston with appreciation

By Dan MacArthur
Fossil Creek Current

Rick Ramirez has no grand plans when he retires from an education career starting almost 30 years ago.

While he will journey to Spain with family members, the departing Preston Junior High School principal primarily plans to spend more time with his four sons, do more cooking to share with others, and seek out the spiritual calling he's convinced has yet to come.

Whatever that calling, it's a safe bet that it will have something to do with raising up young lives as Ramirez has done throughout a rich and varied life as a coach, teacher and administrator.

"The job is what drives me. It's my life," acknowledges Ramirez, an irrepressible optimist and motivator.

While his powerful passion for education has never faltered, Ramirez was sobered by the deaths of a colleague and another close friend. Their passing "left a hole in my heart," he said, and reminded him how dear and fragile life is. That pain was only compounded by the cancer death of Preston physical education teacher Yvonne Parker two years ago, which cinched his decision.

"Here was an incredible talent snatched away from our hands," he lamented.

That's why at a relatively young 51 Ramirez decided to leave his beloved but stressful profession to simply live simply and find a peaceful new place in life.

"If it were not for my children, I would continue doing what I'm doing," he said. "Early mornings, late nights, what are my priorities?"

But don't for a moment believe it was a gloomy departure for Ramirez. He rather approaches this new adventure with the same sense of enthusiasm of every new endeavor he has been delivered to through serendipity and the intervention of exceptional folks who opened new opportunities.

Their names flow seamlessly as Ramirez remembers the people who have fallen into his life and made him shine.

A Pueblo native whose father died when Ramirez was young, he came to Fort Collins in 1974 to attend Colorado State University and compete on its football, basketball and track teams. "I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do," he said.

The answer came when, rather than moving on to graduate school, Ramirez landed a student-teaching job at Lincoln Junior High School in 1979. It was there he found his first calling. "I loved teaching, I loved coaching, I loved being a positive influence in the lives of others," he recalled.

But circumstances took him back to Pueblo, where he worked in a meat plant until a former school board member offered him a place to live and a job as an armored car driver. Ramirez labored nights so he could teach days as a bilingual aide at Lincoln.

Next, those who believed in Ramirez in 1980 helped him land a position as assistant director and coach for the Title I Migrant Education Program. One day, while teaching high jump, he was approached by Poudre School District educator and coach Gil Carbajal. He stitched together an assortment of grants to create a patchwork of jobs for Ramirez at Centennial High School. One he remembers with particular affection was dropout retrieval, allowing him to cruise about on his mo-ped seeking out wayward students in hopes of persuading them to return.

Those he worked with at Centennial were "good, good folk," Ramirez said. "They taught me to open my arms and embrace all students."

When that work played out, Ramirez said, Carbajal directed him to a temporary position at Blevins Junior High. After consenting to wear a tie every day, the newly surnamed Mr. Ramirez was living his dream of teaching science and coaching. In the latter capacity he coached wrestling, girls' softball, boys' baseball and track, in which he worked with state champion discus thrower Shelly Greathouse.

That temporary position became a permanent one lasting nine years. Ramirez returned to CSU in 1990 until Carbajal called on him to become part-time dean of students at Boltz Junior High. Then he returned to where he started, becoming assistant principal at Lincoln from 1993 to 1998, until he successfully sought the assistant principal position at Preston.

Ramirez said he was honored to be chosen because people were lining up to work with Principal Gary Bamford, who hired "the best of the best." Ramirez then was elevated to the top spot when Bamford was promoted to assistant superintendent.

While his wife, Cori Ann, will continue working as a psychologist for the school district, Ramirez plans to take a break from the daily grind. He may continue building the lawn service he initially acquired as a sort of lark to teach his sons the value of a buck. But the Four Brothers Lawn Service has grown so much, it's taking on a life of its own.

Ramirez said he also will continue serving on the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. He may also seek appointment to Gov. Bill Ritter's P-20 Education Council charged with assuring the state's education system is responsive to the needs of employers.

But at least for the time being, his top goal is becoming a healthier, more involved father with more time to cook for family and friends.

"It's really important to me to wake up in the morning and have an omelet ready," he said.

Stepping into Ramirez' position at Preston will be Scott Nielsen. He has 15 years of teaching and administrative experience, the last 10 of those as teacher and coach at Lincoln and Preston.