Sonia Ruiz was working as a school social worker in 2007 when an encounter with a teacher reshaped her career.
Ruiz had planned a field trip to a nearby university for students in her caseload—hoping to give them a taste of college life.
The idea made a teacher furious.
“He couldn’t understand why I would waste time on ‘those kids’ and why his students, the gifted ones, weren’t being invited to go. That’s when I realized that not all adults look at all students in an equal way,” said Ruiz, 52, in an interview with Education Week a day after she was named the 2026 Middle School Principal of the Year on April 17 in Washington.
The award was given by the National Association of Secondary School Principals who also honored other principals and assistant principals at the same event.
That moment became a turning point. Ruiz decided that as a school leader, she could better advocate foroverlooked or marginalized students.
She spent the next two decades in assistant and associate principal roles before becoming principal of Jane Addams Middle School in Bolingbrook, Ill., four years ago. Under her leadership, the school has ranked in the top 10% statewide for three of the past four years. This rank is a combined metric of test scores, student growth, attendance, and other factors like school climate surveys.
“In education, we talk a lot about closing gaps and building culture,” said NASSP CEO Ronn Nozoe. “But Sonia actually did it in real schools, with real kids, under real constraints. That difference is life changing.”
Ruiz credits that success in part to gains among English learners and students with individualized education programs, who together make up more than one-third of the student population, according to state-level data.
Academic improvement has gone hand in hand with a schoolwide focus on belonging and inclusion, said Ruiz.
“We have high expectations for all our students. We cannot believe that just because of their background, they can’t achieve. But we’ve got to do it with love. It can’t just be academics,” Ruiz said.
English learners need conversations and connections
Ruiz’s commitment to English learners is deeply personal.
She immigrated from Mexico as a toddler, arriving in the United States wrapped up in a plastic bag to protect her from the cold, with little English and was placed in a separate group of English learners.
“We were kinda forgotten by the rest of the school,” said Ruiz.
Her life could’ve looked very different if a 3rd grade teacher hadn’t taught her group English on the sly, while the rest of the class was in gym. Thanks to her, by 5th grade, Ruiz was part of the general ed. population, which then allowed her to progress to better schools and eventually gain her master’s degrees.
That experience now shapes her leadership.
When Ruiz arrived at Jane Addams, data showed English learners were weren’t performing at par with other students and felt isolated. Student surveys included comments like: “I wish [teachers] would slow down.”
In response, Ruiz and her EL teachers shifted instructional practices to prioritize comprehension, communication, and engagement.
Teachers started paying attention to the quality of student discourse: Who is speaking, how ideas are exchanged, and what students learn from one another. On her classroom rounds, Ruiz looks out for evidence that students are engaged in a “productive struggle.”
She is also working to expand English-learner certification among staff members across content areas, including English/language arts, social studies, and special education.
The push is both instructional and strategic. With potential federal funding cuts looming, Ruiz said the school must build internal capacity.
“The funds have helped us get teachers trained. If they stop, we’re going to have to do this internally, because we can’t stop educating the students,” said Ruiz.
Creating a school where everyone belongs
Even with funding cuts, Ruiz hoped that she could continue with the practices that include every student.
The school year starts with a simple survey that asks students to identify a member of staff they know well. The responses help teachers train their attention on students who report feeling isolated or on whom they know nothing about.
The school’s numerous multicultural clubs have decorated the hallways with signs and art that celebrate different cultures. For Hispanic Heritage Month, the students drew an image of a Latina girl, and every box on her checked skirt named a Latin American country.
Ruiz has also worked with her student leaders and equity team to reimagine school spaces and events to make them friendlier and more inclusive for students with disabilities. School dances now have a game room, too, for students who can’t or choose not to dance.
When Ruiz thinks back to the 3rd grade bilingual class she was in, she’s struck by how far she’s come and how the right support, at the right time, helped her succeed. “I know what can happen if you don’t look at the whole child,” she said. “If we don’t believe they can do it and we don’t give them the opportunity, then what are we even doing?”
