Mark Villarreal Announced as Sigonella MHS Principal

Dr. Michelle Howard-Brahaney, DoDEA Europe South District Superintendent, is pleased to announce the selection of Mr. Mark Villarreal as Principal for Sigonella Middle High School.

For the past twenty-three years, Mr. Villarreal has been a part of the DoDEA team as a teacher, assistant principal and principal. Most recently, he has been the principal of Vilseck High School in Germany. Vilseck High School was part of a successful district accreditation visit during Mr. Villarreal’s tenure. The school saw many positive initiatives, including a significant expansion of Advanced Placement courses and enrollment, revival of a complex wide college night, dedicated Focused Collaboration time for educators, and the implementation of the College and Career Readiness standards. Mr. Villarreal served the naval community of Rota, Spain as an assistant principal prior to Vilseck. He also teamed up with Dr. Vince Diaz to open Schweinfurt Middle/High School as the assistant principal. Mr. Villarreal is no stranger to Sigonella. He was a teacher for the community from 2000 -2003 and again from 2009 – 2011. As a teacher, he was active in extra-curricular activities and assisted by coaching and officiating for the local swim team (Sigonella Swordfish). Mr. Villarreal originally joined DoDEA as a Spanish Immersion teacher in Okinawa, Japan and taught at Bitburg MS. His experiences include both teaching and leading schools at the elementary, middle school and high school levels across the Pacific and European theaters in Japan, Germany, Italy and Spain. These experiences will help him to lead Sigonella Middle/High School to continued success this upcoming school year.

Prior to joining DoDEA, Mr. Villarreal taught at a bilingual school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He received a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Mr. Villarreal participated in a Master's program in Educational Administration from Framingham University and is continuing his pursuit of a doctorate in Educational Leadership.

Mr. Villarreal is the son of a US Army veteran. He is married to Cristina Diaz Rumph who is the daughter of a Spanish Navy Captain. She understands well the challenges of moving, deployments and living in a military community. She has a law degree from the University of Sevilla. Together they enjoy music, biking, hiking, traveling, family, friends and reading.

Mr. Villarreal looks forward to the new school year at Sigonella Middle/High School with optimism and enthusiasm as he proudly rejoins the Jaguars. The educational goals for SY 2021/2022 will be an unyielding focus on the College and Career Readiness Standards to help all students reach their highest potential. Data driven instruction from the DoDEA-Comprehensive Assessment System (DoDEA-CAS) as well as PSAT, ACT, SAT Reading Inventories and more will guide our decision making towards school improvement initiatives. Focused collaboration will be the tool that keeps a student-centered approach moving forward. This will be a year to remember.