Leonardo Contreras is an Assistant Principal for Austin Middle School and serves as the sixth-grade Assistant Principal. He joins the Austin Middle School team after serving the past two years in a similar role at Sam Houston Middle School. Mr. Contreras, or Mr. C, brings a very rich and diverse background to his role. He was born and educated in Colombia. He completed his Bachelor's degree in Engineering and Computer Sciences at Francisco de Paula Santander University and worked as a newspaper production manager in his hometown of Cucuta.
After emigrating to the United States, Mr. C decided to begin his professional career in Education. In his first educational role, Mr. C helped prepare Spanish-speaking adults for the GED exam. He developed a keen interest in bilingual education and moved into roles at Ft Worth ISD teaching conversational Spanish at the elementary school level.
Mr. C joined Irving ISD in 2005 and served 17 years at MacArthur High School as an AP Spanish teacher and district curriculum developer. He also served as the Testing Coordinator for MacArthur High School. Mr. Contreras completed his Masters degree in Educational Administration at the University of North Texas, his Bilingual Education Certification at SMU, and is a graduate of the Irving ISD LEAP program. An explorer at heart, Mr. C loves to travel when he is not working.