SFPS announced the appointment of Evan Gourd as principal of El Camino Real Academy, a multi-cultural, multi-literate school, on May 6th. Mr. Gourd has served as the school’s assistant principal for the past four years and will assume the position held by Jack Lain. Mr. Lain announced in January that he would leave as principal in June.
“Evan Gourd is a talented leader who is firmly established in the life of El Camino Real Academy. He is highly skilled, with life and professional experience that includes attending Colegio Montessori in Juarez, Mexico, serving as a dual language educator and supporting students, families and teachers as an interventionist and dean of students. El Camino Real will continue its path to excellence with Evan at the helm,” said Superintendent Hilario “Larry” Chavez.
Gourd said, “I grew up in El Paso, and that set the stage for me to become a dual language educator. I attended Colegio Montessori in Juarez, Mexico for my formative education years, learning to speak Spanish and English simultaneously before my parents enrolled me in public school in El Paso. As a classroom teacher, I had the distinct pleasure of working alongside El Camino Real Academy’s awesome and dedicated team. As principal, it will be an honor to serve El Camino’s teachers, students, families and community.”
Gourd was a bilingual elementary teacher for 17 years before becoming an administrator. He taught at Agua Fría Elementary and César Chávez Elementary schools in SFPS and worked in El Paso, Texas at Alamo Elementary and Paul Moreno Elementary schools. He served as an interventionist and dean of students before becoming an administrator at El Camino Real Academy.
He was the program coordinator for the Transition to Teaching program at the University of New Mexico (UNM) from 2005-2012, helping teacher candidates to successfully negotiate the OPAL portfolio pathway to certification, and served as a master teacher for the Intel Teach to the Future program, instructing classroom teachers in the integration of technology applications in their content area instruction from 2003-2008.
Gourd holds a B.S. in Elementary Education and Bilingual Education from UNM and a Master of Education from the University of Texas at El Paso with endorsements in Bilingual Education and Technology Education.