María Rosario-Cala was born and raised in the Enchanted Island of Puerto Rico under the name of María Del Rosario Seijo Ortiz. She is the proud daughter of Diogenes Seijo, of Spaniard descendent, and Luz Estrella Ortiz, of Taíno Indians descendent, natives of the island of Puerto Rico.

In 1990, after graduating from Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico with a B.S. in Computer Science, María moved to Niagara Falls, N.Y. for employment purposes and to learn the English language.

In 2001, she returned to college at SUNY Buffalo, to obtain an M. Ed. in Elementary Education.  Mrs. Cala continued her graduate studies in 2010, when she began graduate studies at SUNY Buffalo, joining the Leadership Initiative for Tomorrow’s Schools (LIFTS) Program, and obtained an M. Ed. School Administration.

María has been a bilingual elementary educator for 12 years for the Buffalo Public School System.  On 2015, Mrs. Cala became the Assistant Principal at D’Youville-Porter Campus School, PS #3, and in 2017 she became the Assistant Principal at Herman Badillo Bilingual Academy, PS #76, where she proudly served children from many Hispanic origins.  In addition to being a teacher at heart and an enthusiastic school administrator, Mrs. Cala enjoys producing and directing musical performances where she and her students sing and dance music of Latin heritage and tradition.

It is María’s mission to utilize her leadership skills to advocate for equitable opportunities for English Language Learners in the Buffalo City Schools and to bring awareness to the Hispanic children about the Hispanic traditions and history that makes their ethnicity.  In doing so, the Hispanic legacy of accomplishments and leadership will be promulgated by the community-at-large and our future leaders.

Maria is the first female Hispanic principal at HBBA #76 and is happy to continue to serve the community that she loves.