Principal's Corner

Welcome RAMS!

Mr. Patrick Buckley earned his M.A. degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Northern Colorado, with a B.A. in Liberal Arts/History from The Colorado State University. Mr. Buckley also completed an M.A. in Youth Ministry.

Mr. Buckley began his teaching career at Seoul American Elementary School, where he taught 4th grade, sponsored Student Council and coached the varsity soccer team at SAHS. He has also taught 3rd and 5th grades, both in his home state of Colorado, and at Shirley Lanham Elementary School on NAF Atsugi. He has also served as varsity soccer coach with Zama American and Kubasaki High Schools. Mr. Buckley has served as an assistant principal at several schools in Okinawa, as well.

Mr. Buckley served as founding principal for Chipeta Elementary School, in Grand Junction, Colorado. The school was formed by the closing of two schools with a tradition of low performance. In contrast, Chipeta Elementary achieved state recognition for high performance, especially for students considered at-risk.

Mr. Buckley spent several years serving as the Director for K-12 international schools in Phuket, Thailand; Ljubljana, Slovenia; and Atyrau, Kazakhstan; with students achieving accelerated academic growth at each location. Mr. Buckley has also served as Director for Personnel for an international school system with 38 schools worldwide. He was responsible for the selection of over 180 highly qualified staff, as well as establishing coherent, transparent and effective hiring, evaluation, transfer and retention policies. At all schools that Mr. Buckley has served as Principal or Director, the focus has been upon the effective use of professional teamwork and collaboration to ensure that all students are served at their specific level and need. Mr. Buckley is proud of the teams of teachers, parents, students and community members he has served with at these locations and of the work they have accomplished together.

Mr. Buckley returned to DoDEA at the beginning of SY17-18 as the ISS, Professional Learning for Pacific East District, then transitioned to Principal of Sollars Elementary School (Misawa) that same school year, where he was selected DoDEA Pacific Region Principal of the Year, 2020.

Mr. Buckley feels honored to serve on the Ramstein Middle School Team and looks forward to joining the Ramstein community. Mr. Buckley spent several years serving as the Director for K-12 international schools and enjoyed working with middle school programming and initiatives. He is excited to serve with DoDEA, a system that provides students exceptional opportunities for academic and personal growth, staffed by talented teachers and administrators, and organized by a vision based upon the most effective research-based instructional practices.