Another one gone SCHOOLS, from page 1
SMMUSD HDQTRS. — Mike Matthews, who has served as the interim superintendent of the local school district for the past few months, has resigned.
He has accepted the position of vice president of a San Francisco-based firm specializing in the development of after-school programs for struggling students. Matthews will work for firm’s newly-created Los Angeles office.
Matthews said he will serve as interim superintendent through July and will facilitate the transition of the new superintendent in August. The school board is interviewing candidates and should select a finalist within the next few weeks.
Matthews’ departure, announced by the district late Monday, comes as the school board tries to grapple with the loss of several, high-ranking educators, including three principals and the district’s chief academic officer, Donna Muncey, who is leaving to follow former superintendent John Deasy. Deasy left earlier this year for a similar job in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
“I would say that there is certainly a significant amount of transition happening right now that would give anyone cause for concern,” Matthews said in an interview Tuesday.“However, this district is so strong, its vision so clear, and its reputation intact that I’m confident we will continue to excel.”
Several school board members, while saddened to see Matthews go, said they too are confident the district will stay the course and continue raising student achievement for all students.
“A similar phenomenon occurred when we were hiring John Deasy … so I’m not really concerned,” school board Vice President Kathy Wisnicki said of the departures of Matthews and Muncey. “Even though it seems very fragmented right now, the day-to-day work of the district will continue. We have a very capable professional staff who are constantly working to make sure that our students’ needs are being met.”
Upon his departure, Matthews will assume full responsibility for expanding after-school programs developed by Extreme Learning, a firm that works with low-performing schools that have been placed in a program improvement program under No Child Left Behind, the federal law which sets strict goals for student achievement and fines those schools that are not making the grade.
“It will be a lot of hard work, very different work,” said Matthews, a 13-year veteran of the district who got his start in 1993 as principal of Malibu High School. “We’ve talked a lot about closing the achievement gap in Santa Monica and Malibu. We have been very devoted to that and now I get some direct experience to help that happen.
“That has certainly been a clear part of the mission in our district and such a clear mission for the nation, that any way I can get experience doing that successfully will be beneficial to myself and to the people I work with.”
Matthews said he will miss public education, but plans to return once his stint in the private sector is over.
Matthews had shown interest in becoming the district’s next superintendent, but withdrew his name from the pool of applicants just over two weeks ago after learning the school board wanted someone with more qualifications.
His departure has nothing to do with the external superintendent search, Matthews said. The board did ask him to remain on staff as assistant superintendent of human resources, a position he has held since 2004, but Matthews decided to look elsewhere.
“There are no hard feelings,” Matthews said. “Absolutely not. The board has always been very supportive and continues to be. This decision was about the best opportunity for me to grow and this was an offer I couldn’t pass up.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 21, 2006. Read the original PDF.