On Wednesday, March 29 the San Francisco school board selected Vince Matthews, former Aim High teacher and Site Director, to serve as Superintendent of San Francisco Unified School District. Born, raised, and educated in San Francisco, Vince will return to the Bay Area after an 18-month term leading the Inglewood Unified School District near Los Angeles. Vince’s impressive career in education spans over 30 years and began at the George Washington Carver School in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood. Shortly thereafter in 1987, Vince joined Aim High at the behest of co-founder Alec Lee who was seeking a computer science instructor. “I heard there was a dynamic teacher at Carver, but I didn’t even know his name,” recalls Alec. “I looked in the phone book, called the school, and said, ‘I’d like to speak with your computer science teacher.'” The rest is Aim High history.

Vince worked at Aim High for six summers, first as a teacher and later as a Site Director. He considers the experience a formative part of his development as an educator. “I appreciated the opportunity to work at Aim High as it framed many of the tenets I’ve carried with me over the years,” says Vince. A passionate and spirited educator, Aim High honored Vince with its 2016 Distinguished Educator award. “Vince encourages new ideas. He cares deeply about kids and sees education as the civil rights issue of our time. Vince is a brave and bold educator,” says Alec. Vince’s Aim High story is one shared by his entire family. All three of his children have worked in the program. His son, Anthony, is an Aim High graduate, and his daughter Arianna was a Site Director at our Westlake campus for several years. Beyond his time at Aim High and the Inglewood Unified School District, Vince has served as the State Administrator for the Oakland Unified School District and Superintendent of the San Jose Unified School District. He has also served in various administrative positions at schools and districts throughout the Bay Area.

Congratulations, Vince!