Almost.

Stepping inside the area where the principal’s office is located, a couple of students can be heard, engaged in a conversation with Mr. Gonzales, OMS principal.

The students – a boy and a girl – sound excited, energized middle school students with something important to share. And, for his part, Gonzales sounds like he’s right there with them, listening with full attention, asking a question or two, laughing with them about something and then wrapping up the conversation with instructions to “check back” with him the first part of the next week.

It wasn’t necessary to see firsthand what was going on. The sound of the interaction said it all. While Mr. Gonzales was clearly an authority figure to the students, he was also…something more. Something – or more precisely, someone - important enough for students to stay after school just to speak with him for a few minutes, confident that he cares enough to stop whatever he is doing to listen. And if that wasn’t proof enough, the students’ smiles as they came out of his office answered whatever questions remained.

Originally from Colorado Springs, Nathaniel “Nate” Gonzales has been OMS principal for two years and was OMS assistant principal for five years before that. Overall, his career in education spans more than two decades.   

Initially, teaching wasn’t a profession he had even considered as school hadn’t been an especially rewarding experience.

He recalls being “sad a lot as a kid”, adding that his dad – whom he “idolized” - was a Viet Nam veteran who had served in the Marine Corps. “There were…things with that,” Gonzales says.   

He also says he wasn’t the best student. “If alternative school had been around back then, I probably would have gone there.”

After high school, Gonzales enlisted in the military, specifically the Marines. “My dad said no, go into the Air Force, but I thought…no. So, I enlisted and told him later. That wasn’t a great thing to do, but I was Marine Corps all the way.”

That was in the nineties, a good time to be in the military as it would be years before the United States got involved in a war that would ultimately last for decades. But, after being discharged, Gonzales was again facing the question of what to do with his life.

“I’d never thought about being a teacher. Like I said, I wasn’t the best student. But I had some money from the service, and I liked sports and I’d always been an athlete, so I thought…I’ll try that. I decided to be a P.E. teacher.”

When asked if the Marines Corps prepared him for teaching, he thinks for just a minute. “Yeah, it did. It taught me to be patient, and…if something doesn’t work out, it taught me to find another way to get it done.”

Fresh out of college, Gonzales launched his educational career by teaching on the Fort Carson Army Base where he was also involved in opening a brand new school. He says the experience was “awesome”.

As he tells more of his story, it’s apparent that Nate Gonzales is a man who thinks ahead, who likes challenges and willingly puts himself in positions that might be uncomfortable but offer new things to be learned.  

After teaching P.E. at Fort Carson, Gonzales moved to Albuquerque where he taught at an alternative school. “It was a tough school. Kids were third generation gang members. When I walked into the principal’s office, she had a chart on her wall that listed what kids were members of which gang. This kid was third generation Mexican Mafia. This kid was third generation West Side. You had to be careful how you talked to the kids and what you did with them.

“But, for me, it was all about building relationships. I’ve always been that person. When I first walked into my classroom, yeah, the kids tested me. A lot. But I just stayed focused on the relationship, and, after a while, they would come to me and tell me if something was going on.”

Kids who are struggling have always held a special place in his heart, he says. “Don’t get me wrong- I like all the kids and if you’re a great kid I’m going to recognize you somehow. But it’s always been important to me to bond with the kids who don’t have a father or are living with their grandparents. It isn’t always bad – a kid lives with his mom and sees his dad who lives someplace else. But, sometimes, other factors in the home can make it really hard, and we see that so much. The kids with two parents are in the minority here.”

Gonzales admits that teaching is very different now than when he was a student in school and even different from when he first started out.  

“Back in the day, it was kind of like, ‘I’m going to teach and you’re going to sit and listen and we’ll work through this material.’  Now, you’re teaching the whole kid,” he says.

“We still teach content. Of course we do. And we’re turning the corner. Our scores are steadily increasing. In 2024, Ortega was ranked among the best middle schools in the country by U.S. News and World Report.

“But, like I tell my teachers, you’re not just a math teacher or a science teacher. Your kids are going to come in with a bunch of stuff going on in their lives. We need to know what they’re going through and how we can help them. Because when we get that, we build real relationships with kids, and then…it’s amazing what you see. Of course, we’re still teaching math and science. I want to make that clear. 

“But when you get to know these kids on a personal level, it’s amazing to see what happens. If you give just a little attention, show even a little bit that you care, they’ll do anything for you and work really hard. And that’s what I tell my teachers.  You want that kid to stop acting up? Build a relationship with them. That’s a priority now, and I really hope that new teachers come in ready for that.”

When asked what he thinks makes middle school such a difficult time for kids, he says, “Middle schoolers are kind of lost. They go from being told what to do, what to wear. Then they get here and everything is different. They don’t know who they are. Friendships they’ve had since the first grade are changing. They don’t understand what’s going on. That’s what makes the relationships so important.”

As passionate as he is about his beliefs, Gonzales is also very aware of the toll this approach can take.

“There are times when it’s really hard to be in this profession,” he says.  “When we can, we try to protect the teachers from some of the really tough things kids experience because it's hard for them to hear. But if you’re a counselor or in admin, you hear tough things everyday.”

When asked how a school copes with some of the tragedies students experience, Gonzales  grows quiet for a moment.

“A few years ago, a middle school student killed himself. It was very hard on everyone – his friends, his teachers. My younger son was friends with him. It was hard on all of us. So, we put academics on hold for a little while. We had counselors available and gave parents information, if they need outside resources. If kids talk about what happened, you listen. If kids don’t talk about it, you’re there for them anyway.”

And when teachers have tragedies in their own lives?

Gonzales thinks for a moment before speaking. “I had something similar. My father committed suicide when I was 19. And then, a year ago in February, my oldest son committed suicide. He was 24 and in the Air Force.” Again, he pauses. “Even though I could barely handle myself, I needed to come back to school after just a few days. My staff told me to take more time, but life goes on here. If I’m gone for a day, I’ll come back to a hundred emails. So, I came back a little early.”

He pauses again before speaking.

“I know this job isn’t for everybody. Being a middle school teacher…it’s either a fit or it’s not and people learn that pretty quickly. And every day I reflect. What did I do wrong? How can I help my staff better than I do? I’m happy to reflect on that.

“But it also isn’t just me. It takes the whole staff and I want the whole staff to like kids. I’ve seen teachers interacting in the hallway and I end up asking, ‘You like kids, right? Because you’re acting like you don’t like kids very much.’ I even ask that in interviews. Do you like kids?

“I have one basic rule that I tell my teachers. It’s love and accountability.  I’m gonna love you hard as a teacher and help in any way I can, but I’m also going to hold you accountable for doing what I’ve told you to do because if you don’t, we’re going to have holes. Love and accountability. That’s my rule.”

When asked what move is next, Gonzales says that someday he’d like to be a superintendent. “The bigger the position, the greater the things you can do.” But, in the immediate future, there’s something else he has been thinking about for a while.

“To be honest, I've been thinking of ways to bring more awareness to suicide,” he says.  “It's just difficult for me, but I think sharing it with the public like this will help me to begin the process.”

NATIONAL AWARD

Shortly before the Valley Courier’s conversation with Nathaniel Gonzales, it was announced that he had been nominated for the National Life Group’s 2025–26 Life Changer of the Year award.

When asked for a comment, ASD Superintendent Diana Jones wrote, “Every chance he gets, Mr. Gonzales is in the hall, lunchroom, at recess, and in classes, interacting with the students.  They see that he is truly invested in them and their education.  Recently, he purchased a traveling desk, and you can find him working in the halls, or going into classrooms, not to observe teachers, but to engage with the students and their learning.

Wendi McClaren-Geis, an OMS teacher who works with Gonzales, wrote, "Nate Gonzales exemplifies the very best of educational leadership through his consistently positive attitude and his natural ability to build strong, meaningful relationships with both students and staff. His approachable demeanor, genuine care for others, and steady presence create a school culture grounded in trust, respect, and high expectations.”

ASD Assistant Superintendent Luis Murillo simply wrote, “Nate is a diamond in the rough. He will be principal of the year in a few years.”