As of Friday, February 7th, Northgate High School’s band director was notified he would not be returning next year. Mr. Garcia-Leiva would never choose to leave his students. He cares about all of us, even the students who don’t have a class with him, even the students who are struggling. He has spent 5 years with Northgate, beginning in 2021, and the whole time he inspired, cared for, and nurtured every student whose path he came across. Mr. Garcia-Leiva shared with his students that he became a music teacher to honor his father who passed away in 2019, as he believes that it’s the best way to honor his legacy. He proved this was true, by honestly becoming nearly a father figure to some of his students. Every single day, he shows us we matter. He shows us that we should be proud of ourselves. He shows us that we are loved. It’s time for Northgate to give that back to him, and show him how much we care about him. He was not told why he wouldn’t be returning, and his students are all upset that they have to continue on without him. No band at Northgate will be the same, and all of his students will miss him deeply if he does not return. He deserves this job. He deserves the love and care that he gave to everyone. Don’t let MDUSD or Northgate take away the most caring teacher that we have. Please let us keep Mr. GL. Northgate wouldn’t be the same without him.