SF Board of Education Announces Finalist for SFUSD Superintendent

March 29, 2017 (San Francisco, CA) – Today the San Francisco Board of Education announced that they have selected Vincent Matthews as their finalist to serve as the District’s next superintendent. Vincent Matthews is a 30-year veteran in education and has held a range of roles including teacher, principal, and superintendent.

"We wanted to make sure that we picked the best leader for the district, focused on student equity, social justice, and improving the climate for our educators and school personnel. We chose someone with a wealth of instructional experience, leadership experience and personal knowledge of SFUSD,” says Board President Shamann Walton.

Dr. Vincent Matthews. Image courtesy of EdSource.

“We searched for a superintendent that would be dedicated to SFUSD and its students for the long haul. Dr. Matthews was born in San Francisco, went to preschool, elementary, junior high, high school and university right here in San Francisco. He started his teaching and administrative career right here in SF. We are all proud."

A native of San Francisco, Vincent Matthews completed his preK-12 education as a student at William DeAvila, formerly Dudley Stone ECE, Grattan Elementary, Hoover Middle and JE McAteer High School. Following graduation from McAteer, Matthews earned his Bachelor of Arts, teaching credential, and eventually his doctorate in education from San Francisco State University. Early in his career as an educator he taught at George Washington Carver Elementary School and served as principal at Alvarado Elementary School.

“It is an honor and a privilege to have been selected as the finalist for the San Francisco Unified District Superintendent. Having been a student in the district I believe I owe so much to the staff members, educators and caring adults who delivered a high quality rigorous education to me. I look forward to working with the our current staff to provide each and every student the quality instruction and equitable support required to thrive in the 21st century,” says Matthews.

Currently Matthews serves the California Department of Education as the state-appointed superintendent of Inglewood Unified School District. Prior to serving in Inglewood, Matthews led the San Jose Unified School District as superintendent for 5 1/2 years where he is credited with raising academic achievement, narrowing the achievement gap between Latino and white students, and passing landmark agreements with the San Jose teacher’s union. Prior to working in San Jose, he served as a state-appointed superintendent for Oakland Unified and as an area superintendent for San Diego City Schools.

The national search for a permanent superintendent for the San Francisco Unified School District began in the fall of 2016 after Superintendent Richard Carranza announced he had accepted a position with the Houston Independent School District. SFUSD board commissioners worked with a search firm to collect community input through in-person meetings and an online survey regarding what people wanted in the next SFUSD superintendent. The board then reviewed more than 27 applications from across the country.

After several interviews with top choice candidates and reference checks, board members unanimously agreed that Matthews was the best choice for San Francisco at this time.

The SF Board of Education plans to vote on Matthews’ superintendent contract at the regular Board of Education meeting on April 4, 2017.