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Mr. Martinez moved to Central Florida in 2002 after graduating from Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in History. He began his teaching career with Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) in 2002 as a Bilingual Transitional Social Studies and Reading Instructor at Union Park Middle School in Orlando, Florida. While in this role, he worked directly with students new to the United States who struggled to learn English and often lacked reading skills in their native language. In working with these students, he realized the importance of advocacy and support for students with a broad array of challenging circumstances.
While serving as an administrative dean at Freedom Middle School in Orlando, Florida, he earned a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. He then transitioned to assistant principal at Meadow Woods Middle School in Orlando, Florida. Following his time at Meadow Woods Middle School, he served as the assistant principal at Lake Nona Middle School (LNMS). While at LNMS, Mr. Martinez was recognized as the Orange County Association of School Administrators (OCASA) 2012-2013 Middle School Assistant Principal of the Year. In 2014, he was selected to lead Lake Nona Middle School as the principal. While serving as the principal of LNMS, he was recognized as the 2013-2014 Orange County Association of Education and Media (OCAEM) Distinguished Administrator of the Year, subsequently followed by the 2014-2015 United Way Fine Arts Middle School Principal of the Year.
It was in 2015 that he had the opportunity to dive into serving students on a larger scale by being appointed as the principal of Colonial High School in Orlando, Florida. With a change in demographics since its inception in 1958, it was in 2015 that Colonial saw its first Hispanic principal. Raised in Brooklyn, New York, as the son of Puerto Rican parents, Mr. Martinez has always had a personal connection and understanding regarding the struggles faced by many minority students. In 2016, Florida Trend Magazine recognized Colonial High School as among the state’s best high schools, and in 2017-2018, Colonial High School raised its school grade to a B and had the highest graduation rate in its history, at 97%. In 2017-2018, he was recognized as the United Way and United Arts of Central Florida Fine Arts High School Principal of the Year, followed by the College Board National Fellow of the Year. Additionally, he was an OCPS recipient of the Outstanding Partners in Education Award for being the first to respond after Hurricane Irma. Finally, he was honored with the Unsung Hero for Community Resilience - Florida College Access Network Summit Award. The following year, he was selected to present on the topic of leading a response effort to support displaced students in a disaster at the College Board Preparate Conference in San Antonio, Texas.
In 2018, Mr. Martinez transitioned to Executive Area Director, serving the East Learning Community of Orange County Public Schools. During his transition to the Executive Area Director role, he was a finalist for the OCPS Principal of the Year for his leadership as principal of Colonial High School. He also served as the Area Superintendent in the East Learning Community, where he supported and led 29 elementary and middle schools, serving over 18,000 students alongside his team in the East Learning Community. Mr. Martinez has also served as the Chief of High Schools and currently is the Executive Leader over High Schools, where he supervises 23 high schools and supports over 62,000 students. Mr. Martinez is dedicated to this community and seeing all Orange County Public School students succeed. Toward that end, he believes that through empowering and working alongside school leaders, families, and community members, he can positively impact student achievement and each student’s future success.
