Vela Middle School first opened in August of 1990 as Paredes Line Ninth Grade School.
The school remained a ninth grade campus for two years before becoming a middle school in August, 1992. In January of 1992, the school was officially named after the Honorable Filemon B. Vela, a U.S. District Court Judge. Judge Vela continued to take an active role in the education of Vela’s students until his death in 2004. The first principal was Johnny I. Pineda.