Dear Far Northeast Community,
After a thoughtful and thorough hiring process, we are excited to announce that Mr. Julio Contreras has been selected as the principal of the new Montbello Middle School slated to open in the 2022-23 school year. Mr. Contreras will begin a year-zero planning year to engage the community, hire staff, design the school’s programming, and prepare for opening the new school. We are confident that Mr. Contreras will bring to life the mission and vision of the school, and ensure all students attain the skills necessary to become well-educated young leaders.
We would like to thank the selection committee for their time and energy throughout the process. The committee served the community very well, and their love and commitment for the students in the Far Northeast was evident throughout the hiring process. We would also like to thank the community for their participation by providing feedback after viewing the candidate’s videos and profiles, and after the community forum. You can watch Mr. Contreras’s candidate video here in English and here in Spanish.
Mr. Julio Contreras is currently the principal at Denver Center for International Studies at Montbello (DCIS-M) since July 2018. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Microbiology and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Medical Technology. He also has a Master’s Degree in Education Administration. As a former Head High School Girls and Boys soccer coach, for ten years, Mr. Contreras understands the importance of working as a team to meet the needs of students. He has been an educator for over 20 years and within those years served as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, and principal. He has received numerous recognitions ranging from District and State Principal of the Year, Coach of the Year, and Teacher of the Year from the Terrebonne Parish School District and State of Louisiana.
Growing up, Mr. Contreras experienced hardships of poverty, social injustice, and social strife. As a young student in El Salvador, he experienced many challenging conditions which eventually led his family to settle in the bayou country of Southern Louisiana. In time, he quickly discovered the importance of education as a way to achieve his goals and gain social mobility for his family. Mr. Contreras believes in the fundamental values that every student can learn and reach his or her maximum potential regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, culture, socio-economic level, religion, national origin, or sexual
orientation. As a parent, Mr. Contreras has lived these core values in the lives of his own children with the hopes of doing the same for students. His children are all college graduates, his daughter will earn her doctoral degree from CU Boulder this May, and his two sons have Bachelor’s degrees in their respective professions.
Mr. Contreras has been a building leader for the last 12 years. During this time, he has had the opportunity to learn how to lead a school to success while improving the learning trajectory of students. He has extensive years serving as an assistant principal and principal which supported his growth and development in order to be prepared to open a new middle school. As a principal, Mr. Contreras has shown he has what it takes to collaboratively build a school that will serve the entire community. Mr. Contreras firmly believes that parent and community engagement is essential to the education of our youth and the success of our school and community. Likewise, our Deputy Superintendent of Schools shares similar sentiments about Mr. Contreras,
“While we were incredibly fortunate to have many strong candidates who applied to the position, including three strong finalists, Mr. Contreras’s experience, demonstrated successes, and commitment to the Montbello community make me confident that he is the right person to lead the new Montbello Middle School,” Deputy Superintendent Michael Ramirez.
Parallel to the design process for the Montbello Comprehensive HS, the design process for the Montbello MS will be initiated and led by community members in collaboration with our district partners. The school leader, district staff, and community members are committed to implementing a high-quality school that embraces the experiences, heritage of the community, and uses a comprehensive approach to learning.
We are committed to ensuring Mr. Contreras and this new middle school have the support, resources and tools to help all students and staff succeed. We hope you will join us in welcoming this talented and experienced school leader as principal of the new Montbello Middle School in the Far Northeast community.
Sincerely,
| Dr. Antoinette Hudson
Regional Instructional Superintendent |
Dr. Sheri Charles
Regional Instructional Superintendent |
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