Dr. Jorge Cruz is the principal at McAuliffe Middle School, and after talking with him, it is clear that he is right at home with the community, students, and staff that he helps to lead. Principal Cruz explained that he wants to help all students from all backgrounds, regardless of what troubles they may be facing. He explains that "we all come from different walks of life and some of our kids do go through some things and a lot of those things are out of their control, but when they're in school, we want we want to make sure that we nurture them and that we assure them that they're coming to the safest place that you can be. And that is because you have all the resources to be successful here at school".
When asked about the importance of his staff and how he enjoys working with them, he says that "historically, this school is known for very hard-working individuals that truly care for the children of the community, and we're going to go above and beyond to put them in the best situation for them to be successful. You know, we have teachers that have been here 20-plus years at the same campus, and I think that shows how much they enjoy working with our type of kids, our type of demographics, and knowing we're going to make a difference in those kids' lives."