Assistant Principal/ Tech Director, Mr. Santala

MATT SANTALA
Assistant Principal/ Tech Director

CONTACT
[email protected]
248.969.5194

EDUCATION
B.S. in Physical Science
M.A. in Educational Technology
School Administration Certificate

ENDORSEMENTS
DX, MX, DE, DC

JOINED OXFORD COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
August 2010

In 9th grade, I had a trusted teacher tell me that I would be a good teacher. I knew that education and shaping minds would be my life path before I entered college. I attended Michigan State University for my undergrad and student teaching. My teaching career started in South Lyon in 2003. I moved around to a few different schools before finding my home in Oxford in the summer of 2010 when Oxford was developing its Oxford Bridges High School. I worked as a math and science teacher at Bridges to shape the new program. Bridges was my first real taste of administration. When I started my career, I never imagined that I would be an administrator. My tendency is to help teachers, staff, and students learn and adapt the tools they need to be successful. My drive to help led me to support in the creation of Oxford Virtual Academy (OVA). In 2013, I became a full-time teacher for OVA. In my early years at OVA, my skills with learning new technologies and teaching them resulted in OVA administration asking me to take on a role of Educational Technology Coordinator in 2016. In 2018, I took on the role of Assistant Principal. I became OVA Director of Technology in 2020, working with a dedicated team of behind-the-scenes individuals that make the magic happen for all virtual students and provide support to teachers and administrators across the district.

I married my wonderful wife Mary in January of 2022. We have an energetic puppy, Roxy, born in 2016. Together, my wife and I are planning to travel and embark on many adventures. I have strong ties to my parents, brother, sister, brother-in-law, and my nieces who are all in southeast Michigan. I enjoy creating things whether it be woodworking, technology, and relationships. My most recent area of pride is my work with Oxford Open Handed, an Oxford charity created during the pandemic. Their initial mission was to provide gently used clothes to students in need. Since working with this organization, we have developed plans to provide sports equipment, tutoring services, and scholarships to Oxford seniors. I am honored to be part of an organization with such exceptionally and giving individuals that are result of Oxford’s community of servant leaders ranging from adults to school aged students.