By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features
In selecting a new superintendent for Galveston Independent School District (GISD), the board of trustees elected to stay within the neighborhood in their selection of the newest superintendent.
Dr. Mathew Neighbors stepped into his role as GISD superintendent on July 1, 2023. After working in the district for close to two decades, he is now where the buck stops as far as school district employees go.
“It still seems so surreal to me,” said Dr. Neighbors on July 5.
His first position with GISD was as a history teacher at Ball High School. Since then, he has held various roles in GISD. He even became a licensed school bus driver.
“As a basketball coach, I needed to drive the team and so I drove a school bus,” explained Neighbors.
Hailing from Amarillo, Texas, Neighbors was drawn to Galveston when his wife was accepted into a master’s program at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). She has since completed her doctorate as a nurse practitioner and works in the orthopedic department at UTMB.
Coming from the Panhandle region of Texas, Neighbors had a lot to learn about island life. One aspect he enjoys about living and working in GISD is the island vibe.
“We’re building the new football stadium, and it’s going to be a reflection of the island culture.” Neighbors shared with excitement for the anticipated new stadium.
As an islander, Neighbors has been through both hurricane Ike and Hurricane Harvey.
There was an occasion after Hurricane Ike when he had taken his basketball team to a town in Texas with ice and snow on the roads. The opposing school taunted the island team regarding their supposedly easy lifestyle on an island.
Then one of the island basketball players was interviewed by a news station in the icy town. According to Neighbors after the community heard the young man talk about his house being destroyed in Ike, the island team was given a whole lot more respect and understanding.
The resiliency of the students in GISD is something Neighbors has been discovering throughout his time in the district. Last year he spent some time taking the early morning bus route across the district to better familiarize himself with the students and the district.
“I watched as children managed to get to the bus and get to school at 6:00 am. We have a lot of resilient students in our district,” Neighbors shared.
One of his goals for the coming school year is to elevate student voices. To personally implement this goal, he intends to have listen and learn lunches with the students in the school district.
“I chose having lunch with the students so I can listen to what they have to say in a relaxed way and not disrupt their classroom time,” Neighbors explained.
Another of his goals is to celebrate the staff. One way he will celebrate the staff is also by listening to them. He will be visiting all the schools in the district as often as his schedule allows so he can learn more about the staff’s needs, concerns, and their contributions to their student’s learning.
As the oldest of three sons of two teachers, who was surrounded by extended family, Neighbors has learned throughout his life the value of learning with others. His career as an educator has been guided by his belief that we learn best together with others. This belief will also guide him as he takes the reins of leadership.
Neighbors completed his bachelor’s degree at Texas A&M with a minor in history and is certified for a lifetime to teach K-12. He explained that his certification is no longer an option for potential Texas teachers because the state is moving toward focusing certification on narrower grade spans.
He taught in the Texas Panhandle for a while, completing his master’s at Texas Tech. He completed his doctorate in education at Lamar University while he was living and working in Galveston.
Because both of Neighbors’ parents were teachers and his dad coached high school football, school and other extracurricular activities played a huge part in his life when he was a kid.
Neighbors shared that, in addition to playing several sports he participated in choir, drama, speech, and debate. But he was never in band. He also didn’t have a chance to misbehave much because his parents both worked where he went to school.
He has 17 years of classroom teaching experience, which, he said, is more classroom experience than most superintendents have. He shared that he feels his years of teaching will help him as he leads the district. “It helps having been at various levels. I’ve sort of walked in their shoes,” Neighbors said.
Since starting at GISD in 2004, he has held positions as a teacher for 10 years, basketball coach, assistant principal at Ball High School, assistant principal for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) program, media and I&E director for Ball high School and principal for Austin Middle School. His last position before becoming the superintendent was as executive director for secondary education.
Neighbors has a never-ending smile and an easy-going manner that will be challenged in his new role as the head of the school district. Though he is easy going, he is also a man with a vision and a will to bring his passion for students and staff along with his years of experience as an educator to his new role.
