Ramon Benavides is the son of migrant farmworkers who dropped out of school at a
young age, only to return and become educators in South Texas. He followed in his
parents’ footsteps and entered the education profession. For the last 15 years, he has
worked in the Ysleta Independent School District, first as a science teacher and then an
assistant principal. He taught high school biology, AP biology, and dual-enrollment biology
at Del Valle High School in El Paso, TX. He is also a part-time biology adjunct instructor at
El Paso Community College. Ramon holds multiple degrees – a Bachelor of Science in
biology from the University of Texas at San Antonio, a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from
the University of Texas at Brownsville, Master of Arts in teaching science in biology from
the University of Texas at El Paso, and a doctorate from Texas Tech University in
education leadership and policy. He is the 2022 Texas State Teacher of the Year.