EAST PROVIDENCE — The Gordon School, located at 45 Maxfield Avenue in city, recently made two noteworthy changes to personnel, including the hiring of Matthew Boyd as its new Middle School Director. Boyd took over the role at the start of the 2023–2024 school year.

“In Matthew, we found a relational leader with a remarkable track record cultivating spaces of trust and belonging in schools that center the well-being of young people and the adults that care for them – all while honoring the diversity of identities, perspectives, and backgrounds that define an authentic learning community,” said Noni Thomas López, Head of School. “Matthew’s authenticity, passion for Gordon’s mission, and his commitment to placing children at the forefront of his work, made him the top choice as leader of Gordon’s Middle School.”

As Middle School Director, Boyd will work with students, family, faculty, and staff to support the social and emotional well-being of all students and oversee curriculum that will give each student skills to hone their voice and find their own path to leadership.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as the Gordon School’s next Middle School Director,” said Boyd. “I am eager to see firsthand how Gordon’s progressive values and habits of critical thinking develop and contribute to learning. I look forward to working with the faculty, staff, students, and families.”

Boyd previously served as the Upper School Dean of Students at The Wheeler School in Providence, Rhode Island.

At Wheeler School, he took on a range of roles where he oversaw advisory and co-curricular programs, taught history, and served as the history department chair; as dean of students, Boyd led the efforts to incorporate restorative practices, engage in research and professional development to craft a system focused on repairing community harm in ways that reflected and amplified the school’s standards and values.

Boyd holds a B.A. in English from Bowdoin College and a Master’s degree in Independent School Leadership from Vanderbilt University. He is trained in restorative practices from Restorative Solutions, Inc. and in RULER, a systemic approach to social and emotional learning developed at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.