The first day of school was an eventful one for Eva Matthews.
She’s the new principal at Park View Elementary School, taking over the reins from the since retired Mona Ogden.
Matthews, who spent two years as principal at a small school district in the San Gabriel Valley, credits her predecessor for her showing her ropes. This includes Park View’s rich academic history and traditional excellence.
“Mona has been amazing,” she said. “I’m so indebted to her – I have some big shoes to fill.”
Matthews is from Southern California, growing up in the Long Beach community of Belmont Shore, attending college at California State University, Long Beach.
A fluent Spanish speaker, she’s been in TK (Transitional Kindergarten) through eighth-grade education for over 15 years, spending 14 of those years in the classroom. Matthews has worked as an English Language Development coach and the Common Core, which is a set of high-quality academic standards in math and English language arts / literacy.
She enjoyed her previous work but the need to be near family took her to the Central Valley.
“My husband is from Livermore so we wanted to be close by,” said Matthews, who is also a mother of two young children – a three-year old and six-month old.
The family has made Ripon their home. They’re easing into the community while getting to know the folks.
Ditto that for Park View.
“I want to observe how things are done here,” Matthews said. “This is a top-notch school with a great parents and kids.
“I want to immerse myself in the culture.”
This includes building of relationships at this K-8 school site with an enrollment hovering at around 460.
Matthews is surrounded with a certificated staff of 26, including 18 new faces.
“I’m blessed with the support staff,” she said, crediting them for making Park View a well-oiled machine.
Matthews indicated she inherited that well-oiled machine from the previous principal.
“I want to make Mona proud,” she said.
From the first day of school, Matthews was excited about her new endeavor, getting to know the Parent-Faculty Club while looking forward to the fundraising Back to School Bash scheduled Saturday, Sept. 23, from 5 to 10 p.m. at the Bell Family residence.
Cost is $35 per person for dinner and live entertainment.
For more information, call 916.761.9166 or e-mail parkviewpfc@gmail.com.