VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — As this week is Teacher Appreciation Week, the City of Virginia Beach announced its winner of the citywide Teacher of the Year award on Friday.
Out of 87 teachers, the 2021 award was presented to Daniel Ramos who teaches Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) at the Virginia Beach Technical and Career Education Center. Superintendent Aaron Spence made the announcement via video from the School Administration Building which can be viewed on the YouTube page.
Ramos graduated from Virginia Beach Tallwood High School and completed the HVAC program at the Tech Center. He worked for nearly a decade at All Seasons Heating and Cooling which is where he earned his Virginia HVAC master tradesman and gasfitter licenses. This is also where he developed a solid training program for new techs.
“He ‘walks the walk’ daily, and his students having a firsthand example of and being able to interact with a man with this type of success in the industry as a result of participation in the TCE HVAC program is the ultimate display of success,” said Robert Marlin, Jr., a VBCPS counselor.
Marlin continued, “Just as Mr. Ramos had this awesome opportunity to pay it forward as a teacher, his students frequently return years after graduation to visit and volunteer to work with the classes helping students learn and to encourage them to take full advantage of the opportunities (that) careers in HVAC present.”
Ramos has been at the Tech Center for seven years and accomplished numerous milestones. He updated the center’s HVAC lab, completed HVAC Excellence accreditation, and led his students to championships at the Skills USA district HVAC competition every year. His classes also participate in the in-house building program for the Virginia Beach Education Foundation — a program that helps to support VBCPS teachers and their special projects.
“Ramos has been a crucial part of getting students future-ready,” according to the Center’s Director, David Swanger. “Through his commitment to excellence, creative teaching abilities, and extremely hard work, Mr. Ramos’ HVAC Excellence Accredited program has become one of the Tech Center’s most highly sought-after trades. Further, his efforts have equated to great success for many of his students as they have gone on to become successful Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration technicians.”
Ramos will be honored November 12 at the annual Teacher of the Year Dinner, hosted by the Virginia Beach Education Foundation.
To learn more about this event and how to support Virginia Beach teachers, visit vbef.org.
