Melissa Matarazzo, an education coach and administrator at Studer Education in Poughkeepsie, New York, has signed a three-year contract as the new superintendent for the Gateway Regional School District.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
HUNTINGTON — Melissa Matarazzo, chief administrative officer for Studer Education in Rochester, New York, began Aug. 18 as the new superintendent for the Gateway Regional School District.
Gateway Regional serves the towns of Huntington, Blandford, Chester, Middlefield, Montgomery and Russell.
Matarazzo will replace outgoing superintendent Kristen Smidy, who is leaving at the end of the month to become an associate director at the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Smidy said Matarazzo was hired as a permanent superintendent and has recently signed a three year contract.
Matarazzo has a bachelor’s in history from Brown University and a master of education and a doctorate of education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Prior to joining Studer Education, she served as the executive director for achievement and accountability in the Charleston County School District. She has also served as a middle school principal in the Peabody Public Schools, an eighth grade teacher and assistant principal in the Derry Cooperative School District, and holds a superintendent’s license in Massachusetts.
“I’ve been an educator since graduating from college, including as a principal, up and down the East Coast,” Matarazzo said. She said after serving as a leadership coach for over a decade, she was interested in becoming a superintendent in Massachusetts because she missed the involvement with students and families.
She said she has already been getting ready for the role, taking advantage of the overlap with Smidy. “I’m learning a lot. Kristen has been a helpful predecessor,” she said, adding that she believes the work Smidy and the district have done to engage with the Barr Foundation and career technical education has left Gateway poised for an exciting future.
Matarazzo, who is originally from a small town in northwestern New Jersey, and her husband, a retired educator originally from Salem, plan to relocate to the area. She said as she is settling into her new role, she will spend time getting to know the towns here and starting to meet people.
She is particularly interested in equity in education, and has been reviewing funding and the budget decisions made at the state level and their impact on Gateway. “Education is as critically important in rural communities,” Matarazzo said.
Gateway School Committee chair Jason Forgue thanked the search committee for its work. “I want to commend the members of the superintendent search committee for their diligence in expediting the search process for our new superintendent. As a result of the complex process they presented three candidates which were all interviewed by the entire school committee. As a result of those interviews the committee chose to offer the position to Melissa Matarazzo to be our new superintendent starting on Aug. 15. Contract negotiations took place shortly thereafter and Melissa and I signed the new contract on Aug. 11,” Forgue said.
“While I am personally saddened at Kristen’s departure, I share in the excitement the other members of the committee have in the leadership Melissa will provide going forward. Dr. Matarazzo comes to us with a wide range of experience throughout all levels of education and I believe she will easily gel with the rest of our leadership team, faculty and students to minimize any impacts such an abrupt change in leadership would normally cause. It has been an honor and a privilege to work and serve alongside Kristen Smidy and I wish her well in all her future endeavors,” he added.
