The Beacon City Board of Education is pleased to announce that it has completed the search for a new Superintendent of Schools and has selected Dr. Matthew Landahl. He is currently the Deputy Superintendent in the Ithaca City School District. His experience in Ithaca, first as Chief Elementary Officer, then Chief Academic Officer before being promoted to Deputy Superintendent, has groomed him well to be Beacon’s next superintendent. His extensive career in education began in the classroom as an elementary school teacher in the Baltimore Public School system more than 20 years ago. He also has experience as an Elementary School Principal in Charlottesville, VA. Dr. Landahl received his undergraduate degree in History from Grinnell College and completed his masters in Education and EdD at the University of Virginia. He has received many accolades, including Outstanding Principal from the University of Virginia Curry School of Education and the William Seawell Memorial Award for Outstanding Doctoral Student in Education Leadership in 2011.

The Board of Education began the search for the superintendent in August, 2016 when it engaged the services of the Executive Search Firm, Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA), to assist in recruiting candidates. HYA spent considerable time in the district obtaining input from focus groups made up of community members, teachers, administrators and students regarding desirable characteristics for the next superintendent. The results of these interviews were compiled into a leadership profile that the Board used to develop interview questions.

The Board expects to take formal action on the appointment of Dr. Landahl as our Superintendent of Schools at the Thursday, January 26, 2017 Board meeting; his service in the Beacon City School District is targeted to begin on or about July 1, 2017. We respectfully ask that all parties to the District join us in supporting his efforts. In doing so, we will add collaborative momentum toward the best education for our students, and the good health of our school community.