Chaffey's Mat Holton named Superintendent of the Year

ONTARIO – Mat Holton, superintendent of the Chaffey Joint Union High School District, has been honored as Superintendent of the Year by the Association of California School Administrators Region 12.

Mr. Holton, superintendent at Chaffey since 2008, has led the District to new levels of academic excellence and community engagement. The District’s Academic Performance Index (API) is the highest among high school districts in the state, and as a result of an $848 million bond passed by voters in 2012, Chaffey has embarked on the largest investment in classrooms, facilities and technology in its 103-year history.

ACSA District 12 is comprised of public school districts throughout San Bernardino County. Its annual awards are among the most prestigious in the state.

“It is an extraordinary honor to serve the Chaffey District and work with a team of professionals that is second to none,” Mr. Holton said. “Throughout our organization – from our staff on up through our Board of Trustees – our commitment is steadfast: Nothing is more important than student learning and their achievement.”

Under Mr. Holton’s leadership, graduation rates have risen to 86 percent – 10 percentage points higher than the county average. The District has entered into model agreements that guarantee enrollment of eligible Chaffey students into Cal Poly Pomona and California State University-San Bernardino. Student attendance, honors/advanced placement enrollment and API scores have increased at every high school in the District.

Other accomplishments during Mr. Holton’s tenure:

·       Percentage of students meeting A-G requirements for four-year college admissions has increased at every school.

·       The Chaffey District Online High School was created to meet the needs of students for whom traditional classroom settings or schedules don’t work.

·       Voters overwhelmingly approved Measure P, the $848 million bond issue to improve classrooms, facilities and technology at every school. Construction is underway at the first project – a new classroom building at Ontario High School.

Mr. Holton, an Upland native, is a graduate of Cal Poly Pomona and began his teaching career in the Hesperia Unified School District in 1992. He subsequently earned his Master’s Degree in School Counseling from the University of La Verne, and joined the Chaffey District as a counselor at Alta Loma High School.

Mr. Holton later served as Dean of Discipline at Alta Loma, Assistant Principal at Rancho Cucamonga High School, and, in 2001, as Principal at Rancho Cucamonga, which, under his direction, was the only high school in San Bernardino County to achieve the Distinguished School Award in 2004. He joined the District office as Assistant Superintendent of Personnel in 2005.

The Superintendent of the Year award will be present  during the Region 12 Spring Celebration/Administrator Awards Dinner on April 21 at the San Bernardino Hilton Hotel.

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About the Chaffey District

The Chaffey Joint Union High School District serves the communities of Ontario, Montclair, Rancho Cucamonga, and portions of Fontana, Upland, Chino, and Mount Baldy. With more than 25,000 students, the District is the fourth largest high school district in California. It has eight comprehensive high schools, a continuation high school, an online high school, a community day school, an adult school, and alternative programs. For more information about the District, visit cjuhsd-ca.schoolloop.com