Meet District 308's New Superintendent
Matthew Wendt comes to Oswego from a similar district in Iowa, where he pushed for academic excellence and managed unprecedented growth. Here's how he sees his new role in District 308.
Matthew Wendt says he wasn’t looking for a new job.
He already has a job he loves. For the past five years, he’s served as superintendent of the Ankeny Community School District, the 10th largest district in Iowa. His time there has seen unprecedented growth, both in the size of the district and in the academic achievement of the students.
So when search firm Ray and Associates contacted him, he wasn’t sure that he was interested. The company had been hired by the Oswego School District to find qualified candidates to succeed Superintendent Dan O’Donnell, who resigned in February.
When they told Wendt about the Oswego district, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of the familiar.
“It sounded like the district I was in,” he said. “Boundary issues, construction, number of high schools, a desire to do better academically.”
When the Oswego School Board voted unanimously Thursday night to sign a three-year contract with Wendt to be the new superintendent, several members said the same thing – his experience in a district much like Oswego’s, but on a smaller scale, makes him a good fit for District 308.
Wendt said he was attracted by the similarities, and by the challenge. From his first meeting with the board, he said, he knew Oswego was the right place for him. And if he had any doubts, simply touring the district and meeting its people dispelled them.
“People here have a lot of pride in their schools,” he said. “I’m overwhelmed with the feeling of support people have.”
Wendt holds a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Arkansas, but he got his start in the classroom, teaching English. His wife of 21 years, Dawn, is also a high school teacher, working with gifted students. (The couple has two children: Ryan, 18, and Rachel, 16.)
So it’s little surprise that his philosophy of education centers on the connection between the teacher and the student. When you “peel back the layers,” he said, that’s where education happens, and everyone else in the district is in a support position.
The focus, he said, is not on boundaries or buildings, although those things can be part of the mix. The focus is on educating every child, he said.
But when it comes to those buildings, Wendt believes it’s important to think creatively. One of the things he was able to do in Ankeny, he said, was develop alternate funding sources for school buildings, instead of relying on property tax. During his time, the district constructed several new buildings, including a second high school.
“Everyone loves schools,” he said. “We know that’s what they want, but the difficulty is paying for it.”
His job as superintendent, he said, will be to find the best way of educating the district's children, and that means bringing everyone together to develop plans and visions. He touted his own successes in Ankeny, against some of the same challenges facing Oswego in the coming years, and said there is “no reason we cannot replicate those successes here.”
“Taxpayers expect us to represent their wishes and desires, listen, and come together to develop plans that represent the best interests of the district,” he said.
If you’d like to meet the new superintendent, the district has arranged a reception for him before the June 11 school board meeting. The reception will be held from 5:30 to 7 at Oswego East High School, 1525 Harvey Road.
crystal
10:56 am on Friday, June 1, 2012
Let's hope he can create stability in the district and stop this district from bouncing our children around every 3 yrs or so. That would be a great accomplishment for these kids!! They already have fantastic teachers and staff in the schools, let's too it off with stability so they can comtinue in the schools they r in with their friends, teachers, staff and feel a sense of safety and not worry every 3 or so years. Pleeeease. ;)
Julie DiCaro
4:22 pm on Friday, June 1, 2012
hear, hear.
And if he could explain why Wheatlands get to keep their buses and Homestead doesn't (other than the obivious), I'd love to hear it.
Oswego Resident
2:36 pm on Friday, June 1, 2012
Welcome to Oswego, Matt!
Best wishes for a successful tenure in the District. It won't be easy.
CONCERNED BH RESIDENT
6:06 pm on Friday, June 1, 2012
The Wheatlands are losing buses.
Olivia5307
12:13 pm on Saturday, June 2, 2012
So if Wendt "wasn't looking for a new job" and "already has a job he loves," why is he making this move? Because our school board threw an extra $50,000 at him! Wouldn't $20,000 have been enough?
Jane Enviere
1:06 pm on Saturday, June 2, 2012
If you read some of the links presented in other stories, there's obviously more going on. Which isn't unusual. And given that they are paying him six-figures to leave, Dr. Wendt should be in a very good mood when he arrives in our lovely village. ; )
mike ellison
12:17 pm on Saturday, June 2, 2012
Ray & Assoc is just looking for their commission. Doesn't matter if they are basically looking to convince people to leave their present job, even though they had no intention to do so. How many of the staff from OHS left for greaner pastures as a result of Ray & Assoc recruiting them?
Might be a better situation to find people who are actually looking for a job in the first place.
Lisa Udy
3:17 pm on Saturday, June 2, 2012
http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/Ankeny-School-Board-blasts-outgoing-superintendent/-/9357080/14435638/-/d6kd67z/-/index.html
Gregg Gately
6:27 pm on Saturday, June 2, 2012
Show's he's not in it for the children!
Walt Hines
8:19 pm on Saturday, June 2, 2012
Lisa I can't believe this. I just watched the news report, makes me sick. I'm working "3" jobs right now to keep that roof over my kids head, paying taxes out the rear and we're paying $50,000.00 more for the same BLAAHH. Mr. Walsh has his head up the tree and this is the best we could do. Last time I believe "ANYONE", this district is full of nothing but bottom feeders. I support the teachers and think they're getting the short end of the stick. Would have a longer end but Walsh chewed that off and then some. To think they are even considering asking me for more "HAH" cold day in hell.
Rachael B.
12:22 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
Great, so this guy was deceitful with the Ankeny School Board. Guess that's what we can expect here, as well.
Kate
6:52 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
Lisa, thank you for posting this link. I hope others watch/read it. I'm willing to give this guy a chance, but this information really calls his character into question.
OHSTJHSParent
5:25 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012
Very unsettling that our new superintendent was making this type of news. It does NOTHING to restore faith in our boe.
Brian
11:37 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012
If he winds up being as caustic here as he was at his previous job, do we get our exorbitant finders fee back?
John Spasojevich
11:38 pm on Sunday, June 3, 2012
I'm trying to figure out how the Board or Mr. Wendt feel they are a good fit. The stated reasons are he's accustoned to building, boundry isssues and searching for excellence. Those were the credentials Dr, Behlow had. If the Board hired someone whose credentials were educational excellence and finding a way to achieve that in a district that is beyond broke, then I would say he was a good fit. This is more of the same old BS we have come to know and blindly accept in district 308
Olivia5307
11:03 am on Monday, June 4, 2012
I agree. It's been said that Wendt was up against the same problems in his Iowa district. Where is the evidence that he delivered solutions?
Mary Anne Sorensen
4:07 pm on Thursday, June 7, 2012
How was District 308 able to find $50,000 extra to pay for this new superintendent when we had to cut busing because we don't have the funds??!!! Administration and the school board never have problems raising administration salaries, but the students and teachers have to suffer because of supposed lack of funds!
russ harrison
9:38 am on Friday, June 8, 2012
Kevin Lipke,former principal at Longbeach Elementary School, has his degrees, including the credentials to be a Superintendent. He has accepted a short contract with Pontiac to be that school district's Supt. Since average turnover as a Supt in Illinois is a scant 3 years, maybe we should be looking at him for the future. He will gladly return to our district, is not selling his home here, and has stated that the primary reason he is leaving is to advance his career and polish his abilities as an educator.
In the next 2 years, Lipke will receive an intensive On The Job (OJT) training in finance and facilities management in his new position. I might be wrong, but as far as I can tell, that requirement for a Doctorate level education hasn't really shown to have a substantially higher intrinsic value over a Master's degree education when we look at 308's administration. In fact, the argument may be made that a person with a Master's Degree and experience, that truly wants the position and has the capabilities to do the work, would be a better, and more economic choice than a candidate that is already vested for and capable of collecting, a substantial retirement. The motivation for the non-retired candidate's performance is not effected by a pre-existing retirement cushion. This appears to be the case in previous decisions.
Should Mr. Wendt not work out, then Lipke should at least be considered at least for the Asst. Superintendent position. And...no search firm fees!
John Spasojevich
9:32 pm on Saturday, June 9, 2012
Well, I don't know Kevin personally but I have heard a lot about him and I would certainly support the effort to bring him back in 3 years when the new guys contract is up.
ayar
12:11 pm on Friday, June 8, 2012
Wow - this guy gets a free move, along with "parting fees" from his old district......and we wonder why people run out of dough trying to run a district. Just give him 40G more to sweeten the deal ? buses short on money ? nah, let the kids walk, they don't need that bus as much as the new guy needs a raise. Russ, many people agree, Kevin Lipke should have been offered a chance, but at a discount - less than what Dr. O had been making, since he would be "working into" the job. He had a proven track record in the district. Now, I guess the main thing will be whether or not this new guy sends his kids to our District or not. If his kids end up in private school, as far as many of us are concerned, that will say we spent our hard earned money on the wrong guy. You've got to be invested in the district to succeed.