Veteran educator and acting Superintendent Cyndie Mattox was named Superintendent of Winslow Unified School District on March 6. Mattox has over two decades of experience as both a teacher and administrator and has been the interim leader of the district since January of this year, taking over for Lance Heister who’s retirement will be official on April 1.
Mattox has a vested interest in the community and school district of Winslow, having raised her children in the system as well as having been on staff at nearly every school in WUSD. Of the district Mattox said, “This place cares about its kids and its teachers.”
There has been some unrest surrounding the office of superintendent in Winslow but Mattox alongside the newly elected school board members plan to change some of those issues immediately. The new school board includes President Marilee Ervien, Vice President Sharon Greenwood, Clerk Joey Hartnett, Allen Leonard and Josephine Montoya.
“We need to work on being a lot more transparent,” she told the over 100 people in attendance of the candidate forum. She continued to stress the importance of communication between all stakeholders in the district by expressing her goals of face-to-face communication when possible and the use of social media to relay information.
“We have some problems, of course, but we have a lot of good things going on that need to be communicated.”
Mattox talked of a letter she had posted to social media and sent home with students addressing a proactive statewide public school drinking water lead screening program. Communication in this very public manner is a goal of Mattox and an example of how she plans to lead the team in Winslow Unified.
“I’m excited to accept the position. I look forward to helping to move the district forward, creating a culture of open communication, transparency and high expectations for staff and students. I am passionate about educating children and I’m so fortunate to have a position that makes a positive impact on them. I am reminded daily, with much humility and respect, how extraordinarily fortunate I am to work with such knowledgeable, driven, passionate people and feel immensely fortunate to lead this district,” she said.
The vote to name Mattox was held by the school board following a candidate forum to which the public was invited. Over 100 teachers, administrators, parents and other concerned citizens filled the Hubbell Building to hear the prospects speak.
Mattox was joined by previously interviewed and vetted applicants, Tuba City Primary School Principal Justin Roberson; Winslow Junior High School Principal Darlene McCauley; and Northland Community School (Remer, Minn.) Superintendent, Tim Mayclin, as they presented their goals and thoughts on the position of superintendent overseeing Winslow Unified School District.
Each presenter spoke on the issue of communication. McCauley stated she leads with a “Three word philosophy; listen, learn, lead, with the emphasis on listen.”
No time was given for public comment or question, but concerned citizen Lula Stago stood from the audience to speak. Stago expressed concerns for the need for discipline and counseling services available to parents and struggling students. Following her remarks, the applicants then mingled with the audience, hearing concerns and answering questions on a one on one level. Winslow parent Jeremy Flores spoke with Tim Mayclin about the complicated topic of student athletes and their parents. Mayclin told Flores that his ideology in that respect is to lead the student to, “engage themselves and take ownership of their education.”
Overall, each candidate was poised, professional and passionate about education and the needs of the community. Cyndie Mattox will be met with a general sense of hopefulness from the staff, parents and students in Winslow Unified School District when she officially takes over the position of Superintendent July .
