Matt Burgy, Head of School

May 5, 2023

Dear Oakridge Family,

Whew! Our campus has been abuzz with events and activities in the past few weeks. The whirlwind of activity on campus continues this week and leads into next week with the Graduation of our Class of 2023 on May 13!

Next week marks Teacher Appreciation Week across the nation. Each year, I am reminded of the impact some of my teachers made on me. I’ve had hundreds of teachers, and I continue to find more each and every day. Sometimes it is a colleague who has encountered an issue; sometimes, it is a student who is excitedly explaining a new concept to me in the halls. I chose the path of becoming an educator largely due to the example some of my teachers gave me. Mr. LeMaster was a dynamic History teacher who was tough, so tough that I made my first C, and I was proud to have made that. He taught us to think deeper about history and examine why things happened instead of memorizing the dates of historical events. Mr. Cruz was my high school jazz band director. I distinctly remember my junior year of High School, when he made me play the same bar of music over and over and over again, even though I thought I had done it right countless times. He kept saying, “It’s good, but it can be better.” Mrs. Bishop was my 6th grade Social Studies teacher. Mrs. Bishop had a way of connecting with students that was unique. There were 3 “Matt’s” in my class; to keep us straight, she gave us nicknames, “Place” Matt, “Table” Matt, and “Door” Matt. (No, I was not “Door” Matt.) It wasn’t until adulthood that I realized the impact that each of these teachers had made on me. I began to look back on the teachers I remembered the most, and they all had one thing in common. Each of them challenged me to be better, to work harder, and to push myself beyond my current perceived limits. And they simultaneously nurtured me, connecting with me personally on the things that mattered most to me. Mr. LeMaster knew I was a baseball player, and he would randomly quiz me on MLB statistics in the middle of a lesson. Little did he know (or maybe he did) that he was nurturing my love for math through statistics and analysis. Mr. Cruz knew I loved jazz trumpet players who played ridiculously high notes, so he would give me a cassette tape (yes, this dates me) of Maynard Ferguson and tell me to emulate his style. Mrs. Bishop actually did know me by my full name, and she would catch me in the hallways to tell me how much she enjoyed each of the “Matt’s” senses of humor with her playful banter. 

Challenged and nurtured…if this sounds familiar to you, it should. It’s our mission at Oakridge and is why our teachers are so dynamic. They are, indeed, special. We are fortunate to have them. When you get the opportunity, thank them. They are making a difference in the lives of our children that is quite often not seen or understood until they reach maturity and enter adulthood. They will likely come back when they are long gone, with the understanding that they are a better version because of these wonderful teachers.

Warmly,

Matt Burgy
Head of School