San Francisco (May 12, 2022) - The San Francisco Board of Education announced today that Dr. Matt Wayne is the sole finalist to serve as the new Superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). Upon official public confirmation of the appointment by the SF Board of Education, Dr. Wayne will succeed Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews, who plans to retire as of June 30, 2022.
For the past six years, Dr. Wayne has been the Superintendent in Hayward Unified School District, which serves approximately 18,000 students. Before being asked to become the Superintendent in Hayward USD, Dr. Wayne served as Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services in the district. Prior to his tenure in Hayward, Dr. Wayne was an Executive Director of Elementary Schools in SFUSD for two years.
“Given his strong leadership experience, his knowledge of SFUSD and California, and his collaborative leadership style, Dr. Wayne comes to us ready to lead SFUSD during these times of incredible challenges and opportunities. He has a deep commitment to transparency and is eager to work collaboratively in the best interest of all students,” said Board President Jenny Lam. “The Board looks forward with great excitement to working with Dr. Wayne as we build upon past successes and move forward with a new era for SFUSD.”
Dr. Wayne, who is fluent in Spanish, began as an English Language Arts teacher in 1997 at The Riis Upper School at PS 126 in New York City. In addition to serving five years as a teacher in New York City, Dr. Wayne served as an assistant principal and an elementary principal in West Contra Costa USD in San Pablo, CA before beginning his role as Executive Director in SFUSD in 2010.
"I am humbled and excited to become the next superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District,” said Dr. Matt Wayne. “I look forward to serving the students, families, and staff in such a vibrant district committed to educational equity and academic excellence. We face significant challenges, but I know the San Francisco community is ready to work together to do right by our students.”
Dr. Wayne earned an undergraduate degree in rhetoric and his doctorate in Educational Leadership from UC Berkeley. He also earned a Masters of Arts in English Education and a Masters of Education in Public School Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University.
The superintendent search was supported by search firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA). During the 64 community engagement sessions and through an online survey conducted in January 2022, community members, parents, staff members, and students shared their perspectives, opinions, concerns and ideas regarding the needs of SFUSD and the desired characteristics of the new superintendent. That information formed the foundation of the criteria the SF Board of Education used to evaluate candidates.
Over 60 individuals applied and 18 candidates were identified as potentially strong matches to the SFUSD criteria. Commissioners reviewed all submitted applications, conducted initial interviews with five candidates, and held second interviews with three of those candidates.
After the Board of Education takes public action on the appointment of Dr. Wayne at its regularly scheduled meeting on May 24, 2022, Dr. Wayne will begin transitioning into the role of superintendent on July 1, 2022.
ABOUT SFUSD
SFUSD is the seventh largest school district in California, educating over 52,000 PreK-12 students every year. San Francisco is both a city and a county; therefore, SFUSD administers both the school district and the San Francisco County Office of Education (COE). This makes SFUSD a “single district county.”
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