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Idahoan is top dad
Santiago Ramirez of Homedale is Head Start's Father of the Year
Article published May 4, 2005
HOMEDALE — Santiago Ramirez says he's not a perfect father. But he works at being a dad every day in small ways, like talking with his kids as they eat breakfast about what's happening in their lives .
"It's really creative sometimes if they're running late," Ramirez said. "To me, being a husband and parent is my first priority."
That dedication, and the admiration of fellow parents and co-workers, earned Ramirez the Father of the Year award from the National Head Start Association. Head Start staff in Marsing, where Ramirez works, raised money to send him and his family to Orlando, Fla., this month to receive the award.
The 40-year-old Homedale father of three was chosen because he met Head Start's criteria for parenting skills, Head Start volunteerism that has inspired more parents to get involved, program activities he participates in with his children, and personal development achieved through the Head Start fatherhood program.
"It surprised me. I had no idea it would go this far," he said this week. "At this national level, I'm hoping I can make more connections to strengthen what we do here."
Ramirez works as a family advocate at the Marsing Head Start, and he's a full-time student at Boise State University. He's modest about what set him apart from other nominees.
"I'm kind of thinking that the community needed someone to step forward and say, 'This is Head Start. This is what we do for your children.' We're not a day care. We teach social skills. We not only teach children, but advocate for parents, as well," he said.
Parents and fellow workers say Ramirez lifts up those around him and encourages them by example.
"He wows me," said Belinda Cuellar, a Head Start teacher and parent. "He changed how much parents are involved. He was always coming in to help. He just made it fun. He was here for every meeting and very active with the kids. He's great with kids. He's very inspirational in being a dad."
Debbie Percifield, a teacher and home visitor, said Ramirez's help takes pressure off the teachers.
"He was always involved, always available. He's a go-getter. He always found time, especially if it involved his kids," she said. "To have a dad in the classroom is great. He's good at getting across the message that it's OK to be involved with kids."
Others who work for Head Start said Ramirez is upbeat and personable.
"He brightens my day," said Sally Alvarado, Western Idaho Community Action Partnership Head Start director for eight counties in Southwestern Idaho. "They're (Ramirez and his wife, Michelle) always positive, looking for the next step, the next bar to meet."
Alvarado said the Father of the Year award is intended to show the importance of a father's involvement in his children's education and other aspects of life.
"Parents are the primary teachers of their children," she said. "That's one of the basic things that Head Start promotes."
Parents are a vital part of Head Start's programs. They volunteer by taking projects home, riding the organization's buses, typing in the offices, helping in the kitchens, and serving on committees.
Ramirez is involved in the Parent Committee, the Head Start Policy Council, the Reading Is Fundamental Committee, and the Health Services Advisory Committee. He also translates English into Spanish for parent meetings, works to raise donations for center events and recruit families.
"As long as I keep doing this job, it's easy because I love what I'm doing," he said.
As part of his nomination last year, he was chosen to represent the Western Idaho Community Action Partnership at the National Fatherhood Involvement Training in Dallas, Texas.
The conference changed his career path from bilingual educator to social worker as he met with others who empower parents in order to better children's lives.
"I went into bilingual ed because I wanted to help kids," he said. But, "I want to help any kid who is struggling to get through life. This is the path, and I'm going to take it."
Ramirez said his passion for kids and relationships came from his own childhood. His family moved from Michigan to Marsing in 1978, when he was in eighth- grade. His father worked a full-time job, and the family owned a small farm.
Ramirez said his dad was a good person and a hard worker, but he wasn't there for his children as much as they would have liked.
"There were many plays, concerts and games that were missed due to the need of the almighty dollar. We never really talked much, either, unless it was about the farm," Ramirez wrote in a personal statement included with his nomination. "I knew he loved me, I just never knew how much until later in life when I was in my 30s."
Ramirez said after he left the U.S. Navy and moved back to the Marsing area, he and his father got to know each other.
"Now I look at some of these kids who are here — their dads are doing the same thing," Ramirez said. "I want to be here to encourage them that people care, your parents care. Having grown up like that, I talk to my kids all the time, tuck them in every night.
"I want to educate parents to let them know that they have choices. They don't have to be working 90 hours a week. Don't wait for a big event to spend time with your kids. Those things are fine, but it only takes 15 minutes with them on your lap with a four-page book to understand them, get to know them."
Ramirez is the first to admit he's not perfect. "Getting the Father of the Year doesn't mean I'm the best father, because I make mistakes. There are times when I don't really listen. I've already formed an opinion. I feel really bad and say 'I'm sorry.' Sometimes I speak out of turn."
Michelle Ramirez, 32, said her husband deserves the honor.
"It's the energy from him," she said. "We talked about how we would raise our children. It's been such a neat thing. It's total teamwork. When one of us gets frustrated, the other steps in."
Ramirez' advice for parents
• Make your family your first priority.
• Find 15 minutes a day to listen to your children about their feelings and what's going on in their lives.
• Do projects together such as homework, art, reading or music.
• Both dads and moms need to be involved to create a well-rounded child.
• If the father isn't a part of your life, find a male role model like a grandfather or an uncle.
About Head Start
Project Head Start, launched in 1965 as an eight-week summer program, was designed to help break the cycle of poverty by providing preschool children of low-income families with a program to meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional and psychological needs. Since 1965, more than 20 million at-risk children have enrolled in federally funded Head Start programs. In 2004, 4,012 were enrolled in Idaho.
Head Start and Early Head Start are child-development programs that serve children from birth to age 5 and pregnant women and their families. They are child-focused programs and have the overall goal of increasing the school readiness of young children in low-income families.
How Ramirez was picked
How did Santiago Ramirez become Head Start's National Father of the Year? His Head Start center in Marsing nominated him a year ago. He was chosen to represent Western Idaho Community Action Partnership at the state level, then was picked to advance to regional and then national levels. A panel at the National Head Start Association selected Ramirez from a group of men from across the nation.
What criteria does a parent have to meet? Areas on which nominees are judged include being the father of a child or children in a Head Start program, work on behalf of Head Start, activities with his child or children and a personal statement about his life and fatherhood.
About Santiago Ramirez
Santiago Ramirez graduated from high school in 1983 and joined the Navy in 1985 for six years. He worked for Micron as a production specialist from 1991 until until 2003, when he returned to college. At first, Ramirez was seeking a degree in bilingual education, but believes he can help more families and children as a social worker. Ramirez and his wife, Michelle, were married in 1994. They have three children: Gage, 9, Seth, 6, and Chloe, 3. They live in Homedale.
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