EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — After three decades working as an educator, for a principal in an East El Paso elementary school, the first day of school carries a familiar excitement — and a reminder of why she chose a life in education.
Principal Laura Garcia, from the O’Shea Keleher Whole Child Academy, became an educator 31 years ago and this year is celebrating her “32nd first day of school.”
Garcia said she initially entered education because she felt “a calling” and wanted to spend more time with her children.
Garcia’s original plan was to be a “hard-hitting journalist,” but after working at the El Paso Times as a journalist for some years, she switched careers, discovering that education is her passion.
Garcia said she spent 19 years in the classroom before moving into administration, a change she said allowed her to support more students beyond those in her class.
O’Shea Keleher Whole Child Academy. July 27, 2026. Credit: KFOX14/CBS4
Over the years, Garcia said former students have reached back out — including one she taught in third grade and who later graduated second in her class from Mission Early College.
In an email, the student credited Garcia’s support for her academic achievements.
“She told me it was a lot of what I had done to help her because I used to record the stories from the reading book. I used to report them and send them home on the little tape recorder. And I had our little Walkman for her that she would take home,” Garcia said. “And I would give her my daughter’s bathing suit, extra ones, so that she could do the Learn to Swim program. And she was coming in with no English.”
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When asked what message she would share with past, present and future students, Garcia said she tells them every day: “I love you.”
“I think a lot of our kiddos don’t hear that,” Garcia said.
Garcia said her focus is on supporting students beyond academics, including their social-emotional well-being and mental health. Garcia said she wants students to know she is there for them, even after they leave.
“Even once they leave us, they can come back and see me,” Garcia said. “That I’ll always be here.”
O’Shea Keleher Whole Child Academy. July 27, 2026. Credit: KFOX14/CBS4
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The O’Shea Keleher Whole Child Academy is located at 1800 Leroy Bonse Dr., near where Montwood and Sail Kleinfeld Drive intersect in East El Paso.
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