Abel Avila, associate principal at Odessa High School, never thought about winning the Secondary Assistant Principal of the Year award from the district so he was rather surprised when it happened.
“Like I tell everyone, I’m just here doing my job, and at the end of the day, it’s nice and it felt great being recognized. It caught me off guard. It’s not one of those things I was looking forward to or anything like that,” Avila said.
He was told there was something going on at the school, so he ran out of his office.
“When I got out and I looked to my left, I saw the admin(istration) team and I look to my right and I see all the central office people. I was like wait what’s going on?”
Avila didn’t think it was for him, but for a teacher. Then Superintendent Scott Muri said he had something for Avila and he knew.
“It was something I’ve never, ever imagined I would get,” Avila said.
OHS Principal Anthony Garcia said he is excited for Avila.
“His dedication to OHS has provided students and staff with the supports needed for success. We wish him all the best in his new role as principal of New Tech Odessa,” Garcia said.
Avila said he’s just one of those people who does his job to the best of his ability and if he goes unrecognized he’s fine with that.
“At the end of the day, I’m just happy that someone sees what I’m capable of,” Avila said.
Asked if the award makes him want to work harder, he said he’s always worked hard. People tell him the work he puts in sets a standard.
“That’s one of my qualities. I’m just a worker. It doesn’t matter what job I do. … I’m going to work until we get the job done, and at the end of the day, it’s just who I am,” Avila said.
A native of Tornillo, outside of El Paso, he just finished his 16th year in education.
He was a teacher at George H.W. Bush New Tech Odessa, an assistant principal at OHS, an assistant principal at Wilson & Young Medal of Honor Middle School and associate principal at OHS.
There is one other associate principal at OHS and eight assistant principals.
Avila started off teaching at Presidio ISD.
“I enjoyed it. The fact that it is so isolated, it’s just a different type of environment schooling wise. What I learned out there is students are constantly looking for opportunities to get out of the small town environment. For them education was — and still is — how they leave the little, small town environment. Parents … were the same way. It’s great that you live in Presidio. It’s great that you want to come back, but you have to go outside of Presidio to accomplish something and then you can come back,” Avila said.
Returning to NTO as principal, he said, is a good homecoming as that was his first teaching job in the district.
When he was there, NTO had a little more than 300 students and this year it will have a little more than 500.
“I fell in love with the school. I liked project-based learning. … At the time, it was something different for me, but once I got the hang of it, I started thinking of how everything … in the real world connects,” Avila said.
“The unique thing about project-based learning is it integrates so many subjects. If you do it right, it molds itself into looking at things outside the box. … That’s something that I want to continue to grow within the district. It … develops those critical thinking skills,” he added.
The goals for NTO are for it to keep its A rating in state accountability standards, continue being an Apple Distinguished School, a spotlight school within the New Tech Network and a destination for students who want to think critically.
Avila and his wife, Melissa, an instructional coach for ECISD, have four children.
He started college at University of Texas Permian Basin then transferred to Sul Ross State University in Alpine earning a bachelor’s in biology.
Avila also earned a master’s degree in education from Sul Ross.
When he finished with his bachelor’s in biology, Avila worked for an oil company as a lab technician. A friend called his wife about two positions open in Presidio.
He and his wife talked about it and they decided to take the jobs.
They were living in Odessa at the time, so they moved to Presidio over the weekend and was in professional development on Monday.
“So when they say education’s a calling, it literally was,” Avila said.
