Wing Principal Picked To Lead Special Ed. Services

By: Alex Scofield
Published: 06/25/10

After 16 years as the principal of the Henry T. Wing School, Matthew J. Bridges will be moving into a new office at Sandwich High School as the district’s director of pupil personnel services.

Superintendent Mary Ellen Johnson announced this week that Mr. Bridges had been selected for the position.

He will replace Interim Special Education Director Merle Montani, whose contract with the district expires at the end of this month.

Dr. Johnson said that Mr. Bridges’s experience in the district and strong positive relationships with teachers and community members qualified him for the position.

“What we looked at were his strong credentials, communication skills, ability to work well with teachers, and experience overseeing programs,” she said. “He values every child in the district, and he is always looking to what the district can do to help each and every child excel.”

School committee Chairman Sharron L. Marshall said she believes Mr. Bridges is the right man for the job.
“It’s great for him and it’s great for the district,” she said. “Of course, I will miss him as the principal of the Wing School, as he’s done such a great job there.”

As the director of pupil personnel services, Mr. Bridges will be responsible for overseeing the district’s special education department and the 600 students whom it services.

Mr. Bridges said his experiences working in the district have prepared him well for the job.

He was first hired in the district as a physical education teacher at Sandwich High School. He moved up to assistant principal at the high school for a year and then to the Wing School as the assistant principal for three years.

He has been the principal of the Wing School since 1994.

Mr. Bridges said that in each of his posts in the school district, he has had to work closely with special education students and their parents.

“In my position I have helped develop and oversee many districtwide special education programs,” Mr. Bridges said.

The Spinnaker Program, a districtwide program devoted to serving students on the autism spectrum, is housed at the Wing School, as was its predecessor, a program from the May Institute, and the district’s social skills program.

Dr. Johnson also credited Mr. Bridges for helping to lay the groundwork for Project Excel, a program for high school students with social development deficits.

“He has extensive experience as an administrator working with the district’s special education programs,” Dr. Johnson said.

Mr. Bridges said he has all the needed certifications to serve as the district’s director of pupil personnel services. He received his master’s in educational administration from Bridgewater State College.

Mr. Bridges is also well established in the community. In addition to working in the school district for over two decades, he attended the Wing School starting in 3rd grade and graduated from Sandwich High School in 1979.
He said his ties to the community would play a role in guiding his actions as the director of pupil personnel services.
“This community is everything to me,” he said. “I care passionately about this town.”

Mr. Bridges recorded a message to Wing School parents Monday afternoon that was sent out over the school’s direct-dial system. In that message, he said the move from the Wing School to the district offices would be “bittersweet.”

“It’s been a great 16 years,” he said. “I’ve loved coming to work every day.”

The search for an administrator to oversee the district’s special education department began in January, when the district launched a nationwide search.

Nine candidates were called in for interviews, with a search committee comprising school committee members, community members, teachers, and administrators; however, none of those candidates were offered a job.

After receiving permission from the school committee, Dr. Johnson advertised the position again, this time under the title of director of pupil personnel services.

Mr. Bridges was one of two candidates to be asked to take part in the final round of interviews for the job.

Dr. Johnson declined to share the name of the other candidate or which district he or she came from.
A search is currently underway for a new principal of the Henry T. Wing School, but has not been completed yet, Dr. Johnson said.

6 Responses to "Wing Principal Picked To Lead Special Ed. Services "

1. hendrixfan42 says: 06/25/10
   

   I was dismayed to learn of Matthew Bridge's appointment as director of Special Ed. services (official title:Dir. of pupil personnel services). My son has a relatively uncoomon learning disability and spent 8 years as a student at the H.T. Wing School. During that time, Mr. Bridges attended several of my son's team meetings, a customary meeting to discuss his education plan.Mr. Bridges not only did not have an understanding of his issues, he deomonstrated no interest in learning. He was dismissive of my son's needs and his aim was to deny services. Mr. Bridges even said that there were other students with worse problems he needed to think about.Additionally, my son was teased and bullied at the W
2. anonymous says: 06/27/10
   

   Congratulations to Mr. Bridges! He is a great guy who has led his school to be great, too. My three children attended Wing and have many happy memories oaf Mr. Bridges and of their teachers at Wing.
3. unhappy parents says: 06/28/10
   

   I couldn't have picked a LESS qualified person for this position. As another person commented, when Matt Bridges attended my son's Team Meetings. - (aka IEP meeting - not actually the correct term per sped), he could NOT have been more difficult or disruptive. My son has a rare disorder that no one w/i the Wing school, or the District for that matter, knew a thing about, yet Matt B did everything in his power to disrupt the Team Meetings and to deny of specific terms in my son's Ed Plan. That is, even with a written, signed, appoved, etc., Ed Plan he would instruct or allow teaching staff to ignore his Plan. These Plans are legal documents. Here's a good one. At one meeting he said "we don't want him to look disabled" -- huh? what an insult to my child. He clearly has no understanding of SPECIAL ED rules/regs and seemingly has no intention of learning them. Just wait till the complaints start pouring into the MA dept of ed this next school year! Could this be one of Johnson's "gotcha" things ? Is this going to be some sort of stepping stone for Bridges? Who knows why such an unqualified person could ever be appointed for this position.
4. sandwichmom says: 07/04/10
   

   I cannot think of a less qualified person to take over the Sp.Ed department for Sandwich schools. I had two children in the system who were on IEP's. As other parents have stated, Matt Bridges presence at their meetings was disturbing as he had no constructive contributions to make. It seems like his goal was to minimize my childrens' needs and to avoid providing necessary services for them. I am glad my children are no longer at Wing, but now fear for others as Mr. Bridges now has the ability to adversely affect the education of many children in Sandwich. It is hard to believe that the other eight candidates were LESS qualified than Matt Bridges.
5. jbwayb says: 08/01/10
   

   so does this mean we have to pay for yet another person in the school system
6. Linell Grundman says: 09/08/10
   

   I have to say that after my experience with Special Education in this district, I would say it is a far more comprehensive problem then one person. There are many problems. We moved here from a urban area and were shocked at the open hostility by so many towards special education and the amazing view that the special ed kids were not only a drain on the district, but would be a hegative in the classroom to a normal or "gifted" learner. We came from a community that practices true inclusion to the emotional and academic benefit of the students and teachers. Students learned to respect differences and help each other. Sandwich had policies in place that made it look like they were practicing inclusion when truly they almost were tracking. We've come past that now and have better policies in place. Is it perfect, by no means, but the district is trying. It was highly dysfunctional I think and it will take time. I know parents and students have been hurt by past practices. I know all to well that there has been a lot of suffering. I'm one of those people, people talk to. But I've seen improvement. It is too late for some kids. It was too late for my own, but I hope things improve. Given the current state of things in the school management, I must admit all we can do is hope and keep telling the truth. Sandwich has had it's own version of the truth for a long time. There is no one person to blame. We all need to work as hard as we can to help our district to go forward. One way for Special Education parents to get involved is through the PAC. I was very impressed with the Parent Advocay Council (PAC) report given at the last School Committee meeting. That is the parent group who are legally mandated as a voice for Special Education. I urge all parents of kids on Individual Learning Plans to get involved with the PAC. The two co-chairs have been working very hard this summer to come up with a plan to engage parents and provide a voice for all the kids on Individual Education Plans. We need improvement that is certain. Special Education is still in transition generally speaking since "mainstreaming" has been around less than 40 years. Differential learning in not going away. So called learning disabilities are on the rise as well as ways to recongize non-traditional learners. The class room is changing every year and school districts have to recognize the realities. Teachers have to recognize they will have to keep up with differential learning methods. My heart goes out to any one who has had a less then satisfactory experience when you are there for your child and the culture of the school just doesn't allow those involved to really pay attention. Don't forget Sandwich did no professional developement for 7 or 8 years. I know I am not the only person who moved here from somewhere else that knew all too soon how much was lacking in our schools. But again we are at a point where things are moving forward, so please get involved with the PAC and help hold the district accountable for the sake of all our children. Where do our children learn how to be citizens of this world if not in our schools. The parents fo Sandwich are desperately needed to engage in helping our schools move forward. The town has suffered so much because of the rapid growth. But we are at a point hopefully where real change can be institutionalized.