The Shaker Schools will be accepting feedback on the Shaker Heights Middle School principal search through 11:59 p.m. Monday, May 7, 2018. The two finalists are Ms. Miata E. Hunter, assistant principal at Shaker Heights Middle School, and Mr. Ricardo A. Torres, principal at Luis Munoz Marin Dual Language Academy, a PreK-8 dual language school of 600 students within the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Ms. Hunter answered questions from the community on April 30, 2018. Mr. Torres answered questions from the community May 1, 2018.
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Ms. Miata E. Hunter
Miata Hunter is an assistant principal at Shaker Heights Middle School. Ms. Hunter is a 1992 graduate of Shaker Heights High School and a Shaker Schools parent. She began her teaching career at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where she taught calculus,
finite mathematics and algebra and worked as a graduate teaching assistant. Ms.
Hunter began her career in public education at the John F. Kennedy High School in the
Cleveland Metropolitan School District, where she was a math teacher for four years.
She joined Shaker Heights Middle School in 2004, teaching pre-algebra, algebra and
geometry and eventually became the Middle School Math Department chair. In 2013,
she became an assistant principal at the Middle School.
As a teacher, Ms. Hunter was named Outstanding Secondary Classroom Teacher for
Northeast Ohio by the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics. In 2011, she received
the Martha Holden Jennings Award, an award presented to Ohio’s most effective
educators. As an assistant principal, Ms. Hunter has established curricular and
instructional goals using data analysis, aligned curriculum and instruction to IB and Ohio
Learning Standards, overseen the special education department, facilitated professional
learning, implemented restorative practices and modeled problem solving approaches
with teachers, parents and students.
Ms. Hunter earned her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Cleveland State
University, where she graduated magna cum laude. She holds a Master of Science in
Applied and Computational Mathematics from the University of Minnesota Duluth. In
2010, she was a member of the Inspired Leaders Licensure Program at Cleveland State
University.
Mr. Ricardo A. Torres
Ricardo Torres is the principal at Luis Munoz Marin Dual Language Academy, a
PreK-8 dual language school of 600 students within the Cleveland Metropolitan School
District. A Shaker resident and native of Cleveland, Mr. Torres began his professional
life working in the private sector. He transitioned to a teaching career in 2009, when he
worked as a bilingual special education teacher at the New York City Department of
Education’s Dr. Horan School. In 2013, he was promoted to Special Education
Coordinator at Bronx Park Middle School. He returned to Cleveland in 2014.
Mr. Torres has taught students with multiple disabilities, and done extensive work with
students on the Autism spectrum and students diagnosed with behavior and conduct
disorders. He also has experience with English Language Learners. Additionally, he has
coached educators and provided professional development sessions with a focus on
curriculum, equity, mindset, instruction and behavior. During his time at Luis Munoz
Marin, Mr. Torres increased the school’s Third Grade Reading Guarantee passage rate
from 86.8% to 100% within two years and reduced suspensions by 70% over two years.
Mr. Torres earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in
International Business in Economics and Spanish and a minor in French from Ohio
Northern University. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from
Baldwin-Wallace University. Additionally, he holds a Master of Science in Education
with an emphasis on Bilingual and Special Education from the City College of the City
University of New York. He also holds a Master of Education in Educational Leadership
from the Bankstreet College of Education in New York City. He is working on his PhD in
Urban Education from Cleveland State University.
TO GIVE FEEDBACK, CLICK HERE.