Ramon Griffin, a 13-year teaching veteran at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter School in Ward 8, is the 2027 DC Teacher of the Year.
Mayor Muriel Bowser and State Superintendent Antoinette Mitchell announced the honor Monday, Oct. 26, at a surprise celebration at the school, according to a mayor's office press release. Griffin receives a $7,500 award and will represent Washington, D.C., in the national competition run by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). He will also receive $5,000 for professional development during his one-year term.
The award caught Griffin off guard.
Griffin has spent seven of his 13 teaching years at Thurgood Marshall Academy, where he teaches Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies, math intervention and other courses across grades 9 through 12. According to his Teacher of the Year application, 87.5% of his students passed the AP African American Studies exam in his first year teaching the course. His Math 180 intervention classes exceeded Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) growth expectations by up to 200%, the application stated.
"I believe education must ignite curiosity, honor cultural strengths, and empower every student to claim their own success … I aim to help students see themselves as capable leaders in a complex world," Griffin wrote in his application, according to the press release.
Before joining Thurgood Marshall Academy, Griffin served as Director of Climate and Culture at Dunbar High School. He is a founding member of Kingsman Academy Public Charter School. He holds a master's degree in educational leadership from Trinity Washington University and a bachelor's degree in psychology from Morehouse College.
Griffin has earned previous recognition, including the 2024-2025 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Math 180 DC Teacher of the Year and the 2022-2023 DC Special Education Cooperative Teacher of the Year.
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), which administers the program, also named two finalists: Jennifer Schroeder, a sixth-grade science teacher at Ida B. Wells Middle School, and Gabbrielle Jones, a teacher at Lafayette Elementary School.
Mayor Bowser said on X that Griffin "is a community mentor and an educator who has gone above and beyond for our students." Ward 8 Council member Trayon White Sr. shared the announcement on social media.
Since 2021, D.C. has produced three National Teacher of the Year finalists: Jazzmyne Townsend in 2025, Jermar Rountree in 2023 and Alejandro Diasgranados in 2021. Griffin is now a candidate for the 2027 national award.
