Josie Mata’s calling has always been education. The assistant principal at Bonham Middle School has devoted her life to it.
Recently Mata won Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSA) Region 18 Assistant Principal of the Year honors.
She also won the award in 2017-18 when she was an assistant principal at a Midland elementary school.
“Receiving this award is a great honor. I have to thank my staff, parents, and students for this award. I would not be where I am today without them,” Mata said. “It is truly a great honor in being recognized in both ECISD and MISD.”
This is her first year at Bonham and her first year in middle school. Mata has been in education for 27 years, 21 with Ector County ISD. She has mainly worked in Odessa and Midland, but also worked in Irving.
The native Odessan always thought she would go into education.
“When I was a student, I was utilized a lot to tutor other students, especially if they were coming in from Mexico and they couldn’t speak English. … So I kind of would sit back in the corner with them and translate and help them when the teacher couldn’t speak Spanish to them,” Mata said.
She attended Odessa College and University of Texas Permian Basin earning a bachelor’s in Spanish with a minor in multicultural studies and a master’s in educational leadership, both from UTPB.
Mata said she never dreamed she would wind up in administration.
“They always encouraged me, but I was always really hesitant. God works in special ways. There was one year that He decided that I needed to apply and I applied. It was funny because I applied and took the first interview. I said, oh, it’s just for practice. I walked out of there and I had barely gotten in the car when they said, we’re recommending you. … I guess that’s where my calling is,” she added.
Mata said she enjoys working with students and the impressions she’s making on them.
“When they’re having a rough moment that they come and see me and ask for assistance that kind of pleases me. I’m here to assist and I want them to see that they can reach for the stars,” Mata said.
A lot of students who come to her don’t think they can ever go far in life. She tells them they can, but they have to work hard at it.
“Everyone has to start somewhere, but you have to work hard at it so just kind of instilling that. And then with the teachers, leading them” toward success and making them want to achieve more, Mata said.
She’s working with three teachers right now that are trying to find a leadership role and kind of mentoring them and now they’re following her lead.
Bonham has 867 students in grades six through eight and more than 75 staff members.
Mata said you never see her slowing down or stopping.
“I’m always working on something; just nonstop. I hit the door ready whenever I walk in at eight o’clock. I usually kind of mingle out in the front and do duty and greet the students and then I come in. It doesn’t stop until after 5:15. Usually I’ll work until about 7:30, 8 o’clock at night before I go home,” she added.
Mata, who is a widow, has two sons, Luis Alfredo and Sergio Xavier. Her late husband was Luis.
A lot of times, assistant principals are seen as enforcers.
“I am classified as one of the strict ones here; the mean one,” she said.
It’s not so much putting the fear in students as it is wanting them to meet high expectations.
“Whether you believe it or not, they want to please you and so they will rise to the occasion …,” Mata said. “… They feel that we have a strong bond; we have a good relationship. They come see me; we visit; we talk. In the evenings we’ll hold once-a-month parent meetings and we invite the students,” she added.
They always try to make parents and students feel welcome, Mata said.
Juan Dominguez worked with Mata at Bonham when he was principal there before moving over to become principal at Alamo Junior High in Midland.
“I think that Ms. Mata has done a tremendous job working with our students, teachers and parents. She has not only been recognized in the elementary level, but now at the middle school as TEPSA Regional 18 AP of the Year. I think that anyone that knows or who has worked with Ms. Mata knows she is a dedicated and hard worker who always puts students first. I think she is a huge part of our success and a great role model for our kids. I’m truly proud that she is receiving this recognition and I look forward to seeing her run her own campus in the future,” Dominguez said.
