Dear SFUSD Staff,

On behalf of the SF Board of Education, I am delighted to share with you that after a thorough selection process, Dr. Matt Wayne has been selected as the sole finalist to serve as the new Superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). Upon official public confirmation of the appointment, Dr. Wayne will succeed Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews, who plans to retire as of June 30, 2022. We are immensely grateful to Superintendent Matthews for his decades of service in public education, including the past five years at the helm of SFUSD.

Dr. Wayne has been the Superintendent of Hayward Unified School District for the past six years, 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, I am confident that 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. 

The superintendent search engaged in a robust community engagement process, including 64 community listening sessions and an online survey conducted in January 2022. Thank you to the community members, parents, staff members, and students who shared your 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.

SFUSD has seen more than its fair share of challenges in recent years, and we have a lot of healing to do. Still, as demonstrated through our high graduation rates for all subgroups and more, SFUSD remains one of the top performing urban school districts in the nation and one that attends not only to the academic achievement of each and every student but also to their social emotional learning. 

After the Board of Education takes public action on the appointment of Dr. Wayne at the regularly scheduled meeting on May 24, 2022, Dr. Wayne will begin transitioning into the role of superintendent on July 1, 2022. For now, you can learn more about Dr. Wayne in his message below. I look forward with great excitement to working with Dr. Wayne as we build upon past successes and move forward with a new era for SFUSD.

Sincerely,
SF Board of Education President Jenny Lam

Greetings SFUSD Staff:

I am humbled and excited to rejoin the SFUSD community as the next superintendent of schools starting on July 1, 2022. It has been an honor to engage thus far with the SF Board of Education, and I am grateful to President Lam and all of the Commissioners for their warm welcome. 

As an educator, I put students first. I am a teacher at heart. I come to SFUSD ready to focus on what’s happening in our schools–because what happens in the classroom is what is most important. Yet I recognize it has been an incredibly demanding two years in education, and San Francisco in particular has faced significant challenges. It’s been hard, and we need time to heal, come together as a community, and focus on education. I am here to work with our Board of Education to support you as we focus on the reason we are all here–to educate students.

I also feel fortunate to be joining a district and community that shares my commitment to social justice and educational equity. I appreciate that this work is well underway in San Francisco. For me, leading for equity means that we are learning what each student needs to be successful and then determining how to provide that support at every school and in every classroom. It also means that we are having honest conversations about where we are falling short in these efforts and what we need to do differently to better serve our students and families. 

What is also so special about San Francisco is how deeply invested this community is in public education. This is a city that has demonstrated its commitment to our schools time and again by providing additional resources and support beyond what many other districts in California receive. The district has countless partners from the City as well as foundations and nonprofit community-based organizations who step up to work with us to better serve our students. When I worked in SFUSD, I saw the dedication of our teachers and our staff, and the labor partner leaders who represent them. I am privileged to soon be calling these committed educational professionals my colleagues. 

I look forward to serving the students, families, and staff in this vibrant district committed to educational equity and academic excellence. 

In Community,
Dr. Matt Wayne