FORT BENNING, Ga. - After six years at the helm of Faith Middle School, Julio Gonzalez is taking his lessons learned and love for kids to Vicenza, Italy, where he will apply his 30 years of teaching and administrative experience as principal of a new Department of Defense school.
"I've learned so much from what I've done here," he said. "Especially as I dealt with (the) kids, I learned so much with what makes them tick - what makes the middle school child better."
Living in Italy aligns with Gonzalez's passion for travel. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Gonzalez started his DoD career in 1982. He "spent 18 glorious years teaching all over the world" before transitioning to the administrative side of education, but he prefers serving as a principal because of his wider circle of positive influence, he said.
"Say you have 100 kids you teach for the year - here, I had 700 that I dealt with as principal, plus the staff and the parents," he said. "So you reach more people that way. You make the difference to more kids."
For his skill and leadership, Gonzalez was named the Department of Defense Education Activity's Principal of the Year for secondary schools in 2008. The award led him to be noticed by the DoDEA director, which led to his placement in Italy, he said.
A legacy of leadership
While his students will miss him, they take with them his example of discipline and integrity.
"While I was here, he taught me many things, especially leadership and responsibility - I'm really going to miss that," said 13-year-old Victoria Nail, who moved to Fort Benning in seventh grade after living at Fort Lewis, Wash., for almost nine years.
"When I first got here, he explained the rules to me personally," she said. "If I had issues going on ... I could always come to him and talk to him. It helped me a lot because I was able to get whatever I wanted off my shoulders, and he would help me solve the problem."
And when Gonzalez - known around school as Dr. G - listened, it was sincere.
"He didn't just act like he was listening to us; he actually wanted to talk to us," said 14-year-old Benjamin Gardner, who spent all three years of his time at Faith under Gonzalez's leadership.
"I'm going to miss him," he said. "He's helped me become more mature. He told me how I can lead ... how I should inspire the sixth- and seventh-graders. Without Dr. G, the school wouldn't be how it is now. I wouldn't be the person I am today."
The school has changed during Gonzalez's tenure. The principal instituted a standardized dress code to encourage better discipline and clearly distinguish between grades. Soon after he color-coded the hallways green, blue and red to match the students' dress.
He has also focused on continuous school improvement, 21st-century learning and bettering the Partners In Education program, which won Partnership of the Year for area middle schools twice.
A philosophy of care
It all lines up with his precepts of safety, order, discipline and "amor," that is, love, for others - or SODA as he titles his daily bulletin to students and faculty.
"That's what I've tried to do through the years," he said. "I believe strongly that you need to have all of that to have learning. You need to have safety, order, discipline and you need to care for the kids. That has been my philosophy that has been developed here."
As he prepares for his move and the school prepares for growth with the incoming Armor School, Gonzalez knows he is leaving it in good hands. Assistant principal Angie Cotton will be taking the lead this fall at Faith.
"She's very competent. She's ready," he said. "I think she's going to do very well in following the traditions of Faith, especially when it comes to the school improvement."
Cotton, who started at Faith several years ago as a teacher, said she has been asked how things will change now that she's taking over, but she doesn't know quite how to answer.
"Faith Middle School is all about teamwork and collaboration," she said.
"Students, teachers, parents, our community and myself - we all will continue to educate our students to the best of our abilities. Each day will bring new challenges, but I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to serve our children - our Soldiers' children."
Cotton said she hopes Gonzalez will take with him "fond memories" of Faith, but she is excited for his future endeavors.
Optimistic attitude
Gonzalez is equally optimistic, looking forward to seeing many of his students at Faith again in the future.
"I'm going to miss them, but the beauty of it all is that you meet them again," he said. "You don't see the difference you make in their lives until later on in life when you see them or they write to you - it's amazing how they come back to you."
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