Eric Contreras Re-Signs as Principal of Stuyvesant

Principal Eric Contreras announced that he will remain at Stuyvesant, rescinding his resignation as principal. His decision came a week into the school year, after initially accepting a position as Senior Executive Director of Curriculum, Construction, and Professional Learning over the summer.

During the first few days following his announcement, Contreras began having doubts about leaving the school. “Students came up to me and said, ‘Hey, are you going to come to the play, are you going to come to my game on Tuesday?’, and I knew when those questions began to come to me and those invitations began—I knew that it was an impossibility [to leave],” he said. “I’m in this position, and I’m asking myself, ‘Why do I feel like my heart’s somewhere else?’”

After realizing that he could not leave Stuyvesant, he contacted members of the Department of Education to inform them of his choice to stay. “I found them to be very understanding and respectful of the decision. [...] You never want someone to go there where your intellectual mind is there but your heart’s somewhere else,” Contreras said.

Ultimately, Contreras’s decision was one that he had to make by himself. “After 23 years of being an educator [...] I felt that I needed to follow my heart, and you have to take out all the other factors [...] what’s best for loved [ones], what’s best for your mentors, and what’s best for all the other people that are valuable and mean something,” Contreras said. “I came down to what I wanted and what fulfilled me. I kept coming back to that same answer.”

Contreras does not regret his decision. “I can always go back to that work. I don’t know if I left I could ever go back to being Principal of [Stuyvesant],” he said.

Though working at Stuyvesant takes its toll, Contreras sees value in remaining as principal. “This place can be exhausting, can be fraught with things that go to the media because everyone’s eyes are always on the school, but I wouldn’t have it any other way because I get to come here and feel the satisfaction I feel being here,” Contreras said. “It was simple—it was not that complicated, the decision.”

When his decision to continue his role at Stuyvesant reached the student body, both students and parents were overjoyed by the news. “He stayed, and then everyone was happy. You saw students posting on Facebook that they were glad he was staying. Parents were clearly very happy as well,” Student Union President William Wang said. “He’s like a parent and a friend to all of us, not just our leader.”

Student Union Vice President Vishwaa Sofat added, “It really means a lot to every student, as was seen [...] especially on Facebook when everyone started posting about it. The posts all got around 200 likes, and lots of people were commenting. Alumni were commenting about how they were happy that the school had a good principal, and we were not going to have to face any major changes,” he said.

The warm welcome back reflects Contreras’s intimate relationship with the Stuyvesant community. “He’s like a student. He works almost the same hours; he’s here every morning, he leaves after us, sometimes at six or seven. He goes to the things we go to: he goes to the games, he goes to the plays. His life is kind of like ours, and I think that plays a big role,” Sofat said.

Despite the large responsibilities he must assume, Contreras finds his work to be rewarding, especially regarding his students. “Being principal of Stuyvesant means longer hours, more complex work, always something going on, and that’s never going to change,” he said. “But I feel like I can look into the future when I see the students here. And the future looks really wildly optimistic.”

Contreras has high hopes for the students and their respective pursuits in life. “My desires for each and every one of you [are] to do something that is beyond yourself and leave a lasting contribution to larger society. I really care about this place, and I’m going to come here and deliver everything I have every day,” he concluded.