Academics

Educator Profiles

Ralph Paiz

Academic Counselor
MS Academics
Sile, New Mexico

I have a BA in Elementary Education with a minor in Early Childhood from UNM, an MA in Counseling from the University of Michigan. I am also licensed as an administrator. I also pursued advanced degree in Bilingual Education; however, other priorities did not allow for completion of this degree.

I started as classroom teacher with the Bernalillo Public Schools, and later served as a guidance counselor at one of the district’s elementary/middle schools. After several years with the school district I was recruited by the New Mexico State Department of Education where I worked for many years. While at the SDE I performed many responsibilities- I directed several Federal Programs, I was involved in many committees responsible for developing statewide content standards, worked with the Assessment and Evaluation Unit on efforts related to the development of the New Mexico Standards Based Assessment as well as many other initiatives impacting education in the State of New Mexico. Eventually I left the Department of Education to work with the Bureau of Indian Education where for several years I worked as a counselor and principal before coming to the Santa Fe Indian School.

Throughout my educational career I have always been concerned about the education of children who come to school without the necessary academic English required to be successful in an English-base system. This concern has always served as the basis for my employment decisions. Currently, my decision join the Santa Fe Indian School stems from my desire to take from my experience elsewhere to contribute to SFIS’s initiatives related to Native American children and the school’s potential to be at the forefront of Native American Education.

To me, the most important core value is RESPECT. I firmly believe that in order listening and communication to be effective, mutual respect must exist. Respect of who the other person is the acceptance of others’ similarities and differences allows for effective problem solving.