Meet the next principals of Pueblo Centennial High School and Park View Elementary

Pueblo School District 60 has identified the next principals of Centennial High School and Park View Elementary.

Alex Trujillo, an assistant principal at Central High School, will become principal of Centennial following Dave Craddock's retirement. Kitty Odell, an Exceptional Student Services coordinator with Pueblo D60, will succeed retiring principal Floyd Gallegos at Park View.

Trujillo and Odell will begin a transitional period into their new roles on April 1, 2024. Both are Pueblo D60 graduates with decades of experience in the district.

Alex Trujillo, incoming Centennial High School principal

Despite coming to Centennial from 132-year crosstown rival Central, Alex Trujillo is excited to be a part of another school with strong history, community and traditions.

Ties to Pueblo D60 run deep for Trujillo. He attended Goodnight Elementary, Pitts Middle School and South High School. He began his education career teaching English language learners at South High and Freed Middle School over 25 years ago.

Trujillo later held teaching and instructional coach positions at Corwin Middle School, Roncalli Middle School and Centennial before becoming an assistant principal at Central. He also was a South assistant football coach for over 15 years.

For Trujillo, the excitement that comes with becoming principal of Centennial is "beyond words."

"To be at Centennial High School with such strong history, such strong traditions — I just want to continue all of those and ensure that students are having a great experience through high school," Trujillo told the Chieftain.

Moving Centennial from an "improvement" rating to a "performance" rating on the state's School Performance Framework will be among Trujillo's greatest priorities as principal. He also hopes to make students aware of opportunities in Career and Technical Education (CTE) and concurrent enrollment.

Kitty Odell, incoming Park View Elementary principal

Like Trujillo, Odell also has strong ties to Pueblo D60. She was educated at Morton Elementary, Freed and Centennial. After briefly leaving Pueblo for college, she returned to the Steel City to follow in the footsteps of her mother Cathy Diodosio — who worked as a district physical therapist.

Odell began her career with Pueblo D60 as a speech and language pathology assistant before earning a master's degree to become a full-time speech and language pathologist. She has worked as an ESS coordinator for the past decade. She currently provides services to seven schools, including Park View.

"I have been a part of that school on and off for years, I have developed great relationships with some of the students in that building, their families and the amazing teachers that are there... I have never been so happy — just the excitement that I have, ready to get into Park View," Odell told the Chieftain.

Odell said one of her greatest priorities as principal of Park View will be to increase student achievement by hiring, recruiting and developing a strong staff. She also is committed to making sure students are prepared for success in middle school.

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Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at JBartolo@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Who is the new principal at Pueblo Centennial High School?