Called to the Principal’s Office: Bobby Stives, Irvin High School Class of 1994
(IRVIN HIGH SCHOOL – Oct. 7) – The thought of going into education never crossed principal Bobby Stives’ mind during his days at Irvin High School. With average grades and a solid bowling average, the former Rocket basketball player studied computers in college anticipating a career in business or making it on the Professional Bowlers Association tour.
That all changed when Stives returned to Irvin during his junior year at UTEP to substitute teach. After graduation, he got his alternative certification and began teaching business at his alma mater.
“I fell in love with education,” Stives said. “As a teacher, I wanted to do my best for kids – show kids the right path. That’s why I was in education.”
He looked over his old high school yearbooks, reminiscing about his days as a student, teacher and basketball coach at Irvin which has since been modernized through the 2016 Bond.
“This brings back a lot of memories. It reminds me of the days when I had hair,” he joked. “Irvin is a place that taught me the world and because of Irvin, I’m the person I am today.”
Stives doesn’t remember his principal much during the time – a good thing back then when the principal’s office tended to be for students who got into trouble. But he wants his students to know him. Stives walks the campus logging in at least 12,000 steps a day to talk to students and greet the teachers and staff.
“The principal must be visible to build that relationship so that students and staff feel like this is a family,” he said. “You must lead by example. As the principal, it starts with me.”
A product of El Paso ISD, Stives attended Crosby Elementary and Magoffin Middle before graduating from Irvin in 1994. He served as an assistant principal at Austin, Andress and Coronado before being named principal in June.
“I’m a product of this community. My parents still live 10 houses from Irvin,” Stives said. “You go to the campus you belong to, the one that is the best fit for you. The place I wanted to become principal was Irvin. Everything came around full circle.”
A recent weekend visit to his parent's house affirmed that Irvin was the right fit for him when a couple of students recognized him in the neighborhood.
“I told them, ‘This is where my parents live. This is the house I grew up in when I was a student at Irvin.’ They couldn’t believe the principal grew up on their street.”
Stives recalls driving by the school shortly after he was made the offer – a good opportunity for him to look back and forward at the same time.
“I was extremely excited,” he said. “This is what I’ve been building for my entire career. It was the best news I’d ever heard.”
Photos by Leonel Monroy, Jr.