Published August 12, 2022
Chief Elections Officer Mark Church has officially certified Nancy Magee’s re-election to the office of Superintendent of Schools for San Mateo County after the primary held on June 7th, 2022. Superintendent Magee is not required to run in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Superintendent Magee was first elected to the four-year post in 2018. She provided effective leadership throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting the transition to distance learning in early 2020 and back to in-person learning as safe conditions allowed. She worked with education and public health partners to create the Pandemic Recovery Framework, provided ongoing support to district and school leaders, organized COVID vaccinations for the entire school workforce, and advocated for students and families. Citing Superintendent Magee’s leadership throughout the pandemic, the San Mateo County School Boards Association recognized her in 2021 with the Pillar of the County award, and this past spring, the Association of California School Administrators (Region 5) named her Superintendent of the Year. The American Academy of Pediatrics also honored Superintendent Magee with a Special Commendation Award for her “outstanding contributions through leadership, education, and ‘radical collaboration’ during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Last year, under Superintendent Magee’s leadership, the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) launched the Center for Access and Engagement and the Teacher Residency Program. The Center works to achieve the vision of one coherent education system where general and special education teachers and leaders work together to identify and address students’ academic and social-emotional strengths and needs. The Residency Program, a partnership with Alder Graduate School of Education, provides an innovative, high-quality pathway to a teaching credential while also increasing the number of diverse educators from local communities entering the county’s education workforce. The program graduated its first class of teachers in Spring 2022 and continues to expand.
Working closely with environmental education leader Ten Strands, SMCOE secured a $6 million grant from the legislature in 2021 to develop climate change and environmental justice curriculum for every grade in California’s K-12 schools. In partnership with San Mateo County’s Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, SMCOE also received a $6 million grant from the State’s Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission to build the capacity of schools to provide additional mental health supports for youth. This award came in just as schools began to grapple with the mental health challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alongside many community partners, Superintendent Magee and SMCOE staff provided key leadership in support of early learning and child care in the county, education workforce housing, and broadband access to families across the county.
In her new term, Superintendent Magee looks forward to continuing and strengthening partnerships with public and private schools, community colleges, public health agencies, mental health service providers, Career and Technical Education (CTE) partners, expanded learning providers, and environmental organizations. She will continue to support and strengthen programs that create safe and supportive schools through the Coalition for Safe Schools and Communities; expand, diversify, and support the education workforce; and help schools become more sustainable and climate resilient.
Along with other San Mateo County leaders, Superintendent Magee is working to launch a cradle-to-career initiative to support youth along their educational journey from birth to age 22. She and SMCOE staff are also actively working to support the realignment of early education, including the expansion of transitional kindergarten (TK) and the strengthening of the instructional bridge from preschool to third grade as well as providing leadership for The Big Lift, San Mateo County’s collective impact effort that provides targeted supports to children in the early years of their education.
Finally, Superintendent Magee looks forward to working with her State colleagues, the county’s district superintendents, educators, and SMCOE staff to reimagine a more effective and equitable education system that takes into account what schools have learned during the pandemic.