Dear Communitas,

I have some exciting news. The board of directors is very proud to announce the selection of Matt Mazerik as the founding Executive Director of Communitas Charter High School.         

You can celebrate this important step forward by making a donation to Communitas now.

As one of our founders, Matt brings a clear commitment to the values and principles behind our program. Matt is an experienced teacher-leader familiar with the practices of a small progressive school through his work at Discovery Charter School. His selection underscores our emphasis on building a learning community highly responsive to the personal needs and realities of our students.

Although Matt will continue his teaching duties for the rest of this year, he is joining our staff immediately in a consulting role and will work closely with Steve Fiss and the board as we choose a facility and hire teachers. Save the date: we are holding a "Meet the Director" celebration event on Wednesday, November 2 in the evening. Details soon forthcoming!

The uncertainties around state funding for schools make your help doubly important now. Help us reach our goal of $100,000 this year to ensure we have the resources to succeed. We all believe in what Communitas stands for: learning in connection to ourselves and each other. But it takes extraordinary effort to make a unique vision like this come alive. Please give what you can and invite friends to give too.

Matt was born and raised in “The Crossroads of America,” the great state of Indiana. He took one of those roads to California in 1998 (it turned out to be a one-way street) to complete his teaching credential in Santa Cruz County, where he also obtained an M.A. in Education. An experienced classroom educator, having taught in classrooms spanning Kindergarten thru 12th grade, Matt’s passion as Director is to be in the classrooms of Communitas learning and working alongside the teachers and students. With extensive experience as a leader in a local K-8 parent participation charter school, Matt is committed to bringing all the stakeholders of the learning community together to help shape a shared vision of excellent teaching and successful learning. Matt and his family live in south San Jose, and with a young family of three daughters, he is committed to holistic, hands-on learning not just as a professional educator, but also as a parent. As an early supporter of Communitas, he has been truly amazed by the energy and commitment of the school’s core group of founders, students, and parents. Now, he is so excited to continue building Communitas with us.

I am very happy to have someone with Matt's personal and professional qualities in this important role.

Theodore Timpson

Board President

Communitas

PS - Send Matt a welcome message on our Facebook page.