In his first visit to Madison since being named the next superintendent of schools, Dr. Matthew Gutiérrez said his aim is to build bridges and bring the community together in service of students.
“As your incoming superintendent, I recognize that there will be many challenges that we will all face together. However, there are going to be many celebrations along the way,” he said at a press conference at Glendale Elementary School, which next year will become Virginia Henderson Elementary — the first Madison school to be named for a Black woman.
Beloved educator and school psychologist Dr. Virginia Henderson died last April.
“Unfortunately, I never had the honor of meeting Ms. Henderson. However, hearing about her incredible passion to improve the education and wellbeing of our students and her many accomplishments, it reminds me of the reasons why I love education so much,” Gutiérrez said. “And that is the impact that we have on the lives of children … I feel a sense of duty to carry her good work forward as your next superintendent of schools. … What I can do as the next superintendent is to support the next generation of Virginia Hendersons by supporting our teachers and schools the best we can so that they can be successful. So that every single teacher has the tools necessary to be a force of good for the greater school community.”
The hiring of Gutiérrez was not without controversy, as more than a dozen of Madison’s most prominent Black leaders signed a letter to the Board of Education criticizing the choice over two Black finalists. The letter was especially critical of Gutiérrez’s experience as superintendent of Seguin Independent School District in Texas, which has only 7,000 students, only about two percent of whom are Black.
“I have absolute respect for that group of individuals and for their contributions to the Madison community and the education community. I understand where they are coming from,” Gutiérrez said. “And I respect where they’re coming from because they are very passionate about the students in this school district, and they are committed to the students in this school district. So I expect people to question me. I expect that accountability.”
He said he had not met with community stakeholder groups during this visit to Madison because he didn’t want to leave the impression that one group was more important than another. He did say that he intended to embark on a “listening and learning tour” after he starts in Madison full time on June 1.
“It’s going to be very important for me to meet with all key stakeholders, in particular, those black leaders who express their feelings and disappointment and disagreement with the process,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that I’m not going to partner with them at all. They care deeply about these students, and they’re advocating for, not just black students, but all students. And it’s going to be important that I listen and understand their frustrations and what they want to see in a superintendent and listen. And so as I go on a listening and learning tour in June and July, they are going to be one of the first groups that I take the time to sit down and talk with and listen to. It’s going to be most important to listen…. My goal is to work to unify the community, the school district, so that we can all begin moving in the same direction and focusing on what matters, and that is the 27,000 students within this organization.”
The event ended with a handful of Glendale students asking questions of their own. One asked what Gutiérrez does in his spare time (“I’m really into fitness”), whether he still has to work even though he’s the boss (yes) and whether elementary and middle schools will get vending machines (“we’ve also got to think about health and wellness, too”).
One student also asked how he intends to support students in achieving their dreams.
“What we want to do is set you up for what you dream to be,” he said. “If you aspire to be a nurse, we want to be able to ensure that you are on track and prepared to be a nurse. If you have aspirations to be a mechanic, we want to make sure that we have the right pathway for you to become a mechanic in our school district.”
He said that process begins with listening to students.
“We have to listen to students, we have to have student voice in the decision-making,” he said. “I hope that when I see you as we finish out the year next year that you take the time to say, ‘Hey, Dr. G, I want to talk to you.’ Please talk to me about your hopes and dreams. I want to hear about that.”
