Gerald Vazquez, Scarlett Middle School Principal, grew up in the Historic Corkdown in Detroit and attended Parochial school. He earned a BA in Communications with an emphasis on Public Relations from the University of Michigan. He also earned a Master’s degree from Wayne State. He describes his path to education as being nontraditional.
Out of college, Vazquez worked in campus ministry for college students at a local organization for around 3 years. After that, an opportunity came up and a friend recommended that he should work with kids back in the community he grew up in. From there Vazquez worked with the Detroit Public Schools Bilingual Department supporting Amelia Earhart Middle School with truancy and helping to keep the students in school. At Earhart Middle, Vazquez met a professional mentor that guided him in his career.
He said, “The Principal at the time became one of the most influential people in my professional career. Her name was Dr. Rosa Williams. She saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself.”
Vazquez said that Williams mentored him, trusted him and was ultimately the reason he went to get his masters degree to become a school leader.
After getting his Masters, Vazquez spent around 2 years in the classroom before he took a leadership position in Washtenaw County with the National Heritage Academy to be the Assistant Principal of South Arbor Academy. He held this position for about a year, before Williams invited him to come back and take the role of her Assistant Principal. In this role, Dr. Williams mentored Vazquez to eventually take the role of Principal at Amelia Earhart Middle School.
After a few years, Detroit had an emergency financial manager who moved Vazquez to a high school, where he served as Principal for a little over a year.
Finally, he interviewed at Scarlett Middle School and accepted the position as Principal in 2009, and has worked there ever since.
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About Scarlett
Vazquez describes Scarlett as a ‘melting pot of people’ and told us that it is one of the most diverse middle schools in the state.
Vazquez said, “If you walked in our doors you would say this place feels different…It’s a sunny climate…it has a staff that is very colloquial and they care deeply about the well being of the students and families that we serve. Schools should be the place where students have the opportunity to learn and fail at the same time and feel cared for in the process of it.”
He continues, “There should be room at the table for every kid to have every opportunity to learn and grow and choose to be the most successful versions of themselves they can be…You gotta create a place where teachers want to be so that students want to be there so that everyone can thrive.”
Scarlett Middle School serves around 630 students. Vazquez told us that around a sixth of the population is an English Learner (EL), a sixth receives special education services and over 60% qualify for free and reduced lunch. Vazquez sais that even though these are all factors that can affect a student’s education, the staff at Scarlett believes that in the right environment, every student can be successful.
Daily Life as Principal
Vazquez jokingly said that one of his favorite parts of being Principal is that he, “like[s] being the biggest kid in the building.”
He follows this with a more serious answer, “I think what I enjoy most is when our teachers and our students can thrive, and they feel good about what they are doing…I think for me, the goal is always to light a fire in staff to believe that they can teach anybody and help any kid be successful and have any kid believe that if they’re willing to work hard there isn’t anything they can’t achieve.”
Because middle school is such an important time of transitions, Vazquez and his team work to instill different skills at each grade level. In 6th grade, he describes working with students to develop resilience and, “let them know it’s okay to make mistakes. Mistakes and failure help us get better if we keep trying.”
In 7th grade, Vazquez said they really try to focus on helping them with organization and self advocacy. Finally, in 8th grade they focus mostly on being a good friend and classmate, and problem solving. Vazquez said that if you focus on these things, the grades will come for the students.
“The hard part is that young people, they want to know what the result is, they want to know what their grade is, but we want to remind them about the process of learning and that that’s important,” Vazquez said.
As a part of a path to the high school where they offer the International Baccalaureate path, during these years the staff at Scarlett focuses on helping students decide what path will work best for them in high school.
Vazquez also said that he and his Assistant Principal, Dr. Peterson work together well to balance out each other’s strengths and weaknesses to best serve the students.
Personal life
Vazquez has been married for 30 years. He has 3 children, Andrew, Max, and Ali. Andrew is 27 and lives in Grand Rapids with his wife. His middle son Max lives in California with his partner. His youngest, Ali, is 16.
Throughout his adult life, Vazquez has enjoyed coaching basketball and baseball. He also has a house up north that he enjoys visiting and enjoying the beauty of Michigan. Vazquez also enjoys spending time with and chatting with friends from all stages of his life, including friends from his hometown!
