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Raquel Martinez thinks a lot about time.

The time of the day she schedules parent conferences. The time of year she holds open houses at Isaac Stevens Middle School, where she鈥檚 the principal.

For her, time is essential to how she shows respect for the community her school serves.

Many of her students鈥� parents are farmworkers鈥攕ome of them migrant workers鈥攚ho toil 12- to 14-hour days in apple orchards, and on cherry and potato farms in and around Pasco, Wash.

鈥淲hen I ask a family member to come [to the campus] during the day, they are losing money to buy food to put on the table,鈥� said Martinez, 40, who is in her fifth year as the school鈥檚 principal. 鈥淚t鈥檚 navigating those conversations, making strategic plans, schedules鈥攖hings like that鈥攁round that.鈥�

That may mean holding parent conferences later in the day, at 7 p.m., depending on the season and the crops that are being harvested, and ensuring there鈥檚 dinner for parents if it鈥檚 an evening event.

Martinez is also flexible. She may need to go to school early to meet with parents before they go to work or stay later in the day. Parents may also show up unexpectedly when it鈥檚 rainy and they鈥檙e unable to work. She makes their availability her priority, not the other way around.

鈥淵ou know what, 鈥業鈥檓 going to change whatever it is that鈥檚 on my schedule right now to meet with you,鈥� 鈥� she said.

While in-person meetings are preferable, sometimes, she said, 鈥淲e just do it over the phone.鈥�

Using experience as a guide

Martinez, who next year will become the first Latina to lead the National Association of Secondary School Principals, gets this at a gut level.

Her parents immigrated from Michoac谩n, Mexico, about 45 years ago, first to California and then to Washington state to work in apple orchards, and on onion and asparagus farms.

She knows the backbreaking work鈥攁t 12 years old, she started helping her parents in the nurseries and she can recall her father鈥檚 red, sunburned neck from his days in the fields. She knows her students鈥� parents care about their children鈥檚 education, even if their schedules make it hard for them to show up all the time.

鈥淚 can empathize with them,鈥� Martinez said. 鈥淚t hurts me when I hear my families鈥� stories about how hard they are working and how they are trying to provide for their children.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to get their involvement,鈥� she added. 鈥淭hey care. Our families care. I know my parents cared. Even though they were working crazy hours, I knew that they cared, and I knew they had high values.鈥�

Martinez uses this personal knowledge and her own experience as a child who grew up in poverty to help students connect with adults in school. She ensures that their language and culture are appreciated and celebrated.

Ninety-five percent of the students at Stevens Middle are Hispanic and 54 percent are English learners. Fourteen percent of the school鈥檚 955 children are considered migrant students, according to current year data from the Washington state education department. Spanish is students鈥� primary language, Martinez said.

The school鈥檚 values鈥攐r Tiger traits: being safe, respectful, and responsible鈥攁re displayed in Spanish and English inside the school, along with the results of state assessments.

While the school鈥檚 overall share of students who met the state鈥檚 English/language arts, math, and science standards was low on the 2022 state tests, the percentage of students who demonstrated growth on the tests shows movement in a positive direction.

鈥淭hey may not be proficient, but they are definitely on their way and making more than one year鈥檚 growth, and so we celebrate that growth at our school,鈥� Martinez said.

Lessons from her own experience as a student

It was Martinez鈥檚 middle school physical education teacher who noticed that she was quick and suggested she take up basketball. Teachers then spoke with her parents to convince them that it was OK for Martinez to play basketball, and that they鈥檇 take care of her.

鈥淕irls were not allowed to do a whole lot of things鈥攕o that鈥檚 another culture thing within it,鈥� she said.

She鈥檚 used that experience to help ensure that her students have access to extracurricular activities beyond sports, such as being able to join the mariachi groups that are open to middle and high school students in the district or a new Folkl贸rico club she鈥檚 starting for students to participate in a traditional Mexican dance that can be traced back to the country鈥檚 Indigenous peoples.

鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely showing the kids that their culture is important,鈥� she said. 鈥溾�榊ou value me, and you see me, and you speak my language. I must be important. I am someone to you.鈥� 鈥�

Martinez also hopes that seeing someone with a similar background in such a visible role will help students set high expectations for themselves. She struggled with her own identity as a kid鈥攖he American-born child of immigrants, who learned English as a second language and who grew up in a community where those around her didn鈥檛 look like her.

Parents are often surprised鈥攖hen heartened鈥攚hen they realize that Martinez is the school鈥檚 leader.

That shared connection provides 鈥渁n opportunity, a safe place for them to ask questions about what the education system is doing,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 completely different. You鈥檙e much more approachable.鈥�

A shift from medicine to education

Martinez, who grew up about an hour away from Pasco in Quincy, Wash., didn鈥檛 always plan to go into education. She intended to study medicine, in part to carry on her father鈥檚 legacy鈥攂efore he moved to the United States he was studying medicine in college in Mexico鈥攁nd her curiosity about how the body worked.

Her father also pushed her to dream big.

鈥淚 remember telling him I want to be a dental hygienist, and he goes, 鈥榃hy aren鈥檛 you going to be the dentist?鈥� Martinez said of her father, who died when she was 18.

She enrolled in college as a pre-med major, but changed direction in her junior year after her younger brother started struggling in school. His experience was very different from hers, in which supportive teachers pushed her.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really important to recognize when our students are coming to school with other things happening in their lives,鈥� she said.

After her brother was suspended from school, her mother, now a single mom, called Martinez in frustration because her brother felt that no one at school was listening to him.

鈥淗e just continued to spiral,鈥� she said. 鈥淎t that point when that happened, I was just like, 鈥業 can do this. I can be a positive impact on those around me.鈥欌��

She switched her major to education and never looked back. By the time she got to her student-teaching experience in a high school, 鈥淚t was awesome,鈥� Martinez said. 鈥淚t was like my niche.鈥�

After a few bumpy days at her first teaching job at Pasco High School, where she taught biology, Martinez knew she had made the right call.

She focused on helping students master the subject while still learning English.

鈥淛ust because you鈥檙e learning a second language doesn鈥檛 mean that you鈥檙e not capable of learning the content,鈥� said Martinez. 鈥淐an you imagine trying to learn Japanese and biology at the same time? That鈥檚 what our kids experience.鈥�

Martinez sought the job at Stevens Middle School to have a similar impact on students at an earlier age.

鈥淎t the middle level, they are so malleable, you can change the trajectory really quickly as opposed to high school,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 love the high school [students]; they are amazing. But in middle school, you can totally shape them more and have an impact on their lives.鈥�

She鈥檚 hoping to use the new national spotlight to elevate the need for more Hispanic and non-Hispanic leaders of color, as well as a better understanding of newly arrived immigrants and students who come from families in poverty. Martinez also wants to focus not only on the challenges these students face, but on the successful programs and community supports that have helped lift families like hers out of poverty.

鈥淵ou have to believe our kids can get there,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen I say all, I am not talking about leaving anyone behind.鈥�