Matt Coleman

Matt’s Story

What path brought you to your current role at Inflexion?

I spent 21 years as a public educator. 15 of those years were in an administrative role, nine as a building administrator and six at the district level. Relatively early in my administrative career, I was exposed to Dave Conley’s work, specifically what is now referred to as the Four Keys to College and Career Readiness. We applied it as a framework in our efforts both at the school and district levels and found great success in its use. So, when the opportunity presented itself, I was excited to join the Inflexion team as the Chief Executive Officer and launch a focus on school based efforts and district level work in the micro policy environment. Because of my positive experience and results with the Four Keys, it couldn’t have been a more natural fit.

What are you most passionate about professionally?

My passion professionally is making a real difference for kids who have historically been underserved. I think a big factor in that, and an angle that’s a little bit unique, is that I’ve played almost every role at the secondary level. I’ve been an instructional assistant, a middle school teacher, a high school teacher, a high school vice principal, a middle school principal, a high school principal, and in the district office. I’ve played nearly every role within the system, so I feel like I’ve got a sense for what needs to happen from a systems perspective to support all kids.

Describe an educator from your past that had a profound affect you.

When I was a first year teacher, I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Charlie Harper, a physicist at Cal State Hayward. During the summer, he ran camp for kids from Oakland and Hayward. This physicist, who cared deeply about impacting young minds and inspiring kids to aspire to STEM fields, fascinated me. Beyond the science, he helped me discover that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. He taught me that if you observe the whole, and you begin to recognize that whole in each of the individual parts, you can start to appreciate the roles that each of these individual parts play. So, as a young educator, I began my journey toward becoming a “systems thinker.” I became acutely aware of the big picture and the role that I played as a teacher. Being able to break down the parts to see how they work off of each other, and what is or isn’t effective, has become an invaluable tool as we work toward achieving something great like student success.

What have you liked best about your life so far?

I have had the opportunity to rub shoulders with some really great, passionate, and creative people. It’s those people who have truly influenced who I am, what I do, and how I go about living my life. I often like to think about the individuals along the way that I can really point to as my influences. I know I referenced Dr. Harper earlier, but he’s the first person I always talk about who had a huge influence on my life. It’s really along list of people who have impacted my life in different ways. People like the late Toni Painter who hired me at Whitford Middle School and taught me a lot about administration and leadership as a young teacher. To principals Len Case, Sue Tarrant, Ralph Riden and Debbie Sember, who all helped me uncover the values and beliefs that drive me as a school leader as well as who shaped my own personal leadership style. To Nancy Golden and Jerry Colona, the superintendents that I’ve worked with. I think about my friends, colleagues as a teacher, and people like Lupe, Carmen, Sho, Keith, Jerry, the list goes on and on…just quality, quality people all along the way. The list grows every day and I love it!

What do you know now that you wish you’d known when you were younger?

I was young and dumb and thus, a little bit brash, especially in my early administrative years. I wish I would’ve slowed down a little bit and tried to gain a broader sense of what was actually going on at a deeper level rather than feeling the need to try and quickly be the “answer guy” early on. I also wish I knew politically what I know now and how to set things in motion to bring about change.

Matt’s Impact in the Field