Matthew Malone
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Matthew H. Malone is an American educator who served as the superintendent of Fall River Public Schools from 2016 until 2021. Malone is also the former Massachusetts secretary of education.


Early life and education

Malone grew up in
Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts Newton Upper Falls is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Massachusetts, United States. The village is listed as the Newton Upper Falls Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. Geography The area ...
. During his youth he was diagnosed with dyslexia. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
. Malone served in the Marine Corps Reserve for eight years, as a Field Radio Operator within an infantry battalion, the 1st Battalion 25th Marine Regiment and received an honorable discharge with the rank of sergeant. Malone is a combat veteran of the 1991 Persian Gulf War. He earned a bachelor's degree in history from
Suffolk University Suffolk University is a private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. With 7,560 students on all campuses, it is the List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston, tenth-largest university ...
and a master's degree in secondary education and a doctorate in educational administration from
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...
.


Early career

Malone began his teaching career in 1993 as a paraprofessional and substitute teacher in the
Boston Public Schools Boston Public Schools (BPS) is a school district serving the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest public school district in the state of Massachusetts. Leadership The district is led by a superintendent, hired by t ...
. He then worked as a high school social studies teacher in Boston from 1995 to 1999 and middle school assistant principal in
Duxbury, Massachusetts Duxbury (alternative older spelling: "Duxborough") is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb located on the South Shore approximately to the southeast of Boston, the population was 16,090 at the 2020 census. The tow ...
from 1999 to 2000. From 2000 to 2003 headmaster of Monument High School, a new high school created from the breaking up of the large
South Boston High School South Boston High School was a public high school located in South Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was part of Boston Public Schools. The school closed in 2003, and its former facility is currently occupied by Excel High School. Histo ...
. From 2004 to 2005, Malone served as special assistant to the superintendent and instructional leader in the
San Diego Unified School District San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) is a public school district based in San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 ...
. In this role he led the largest high school conversion (breaking up of a large high school into smaller schools) initiative in the country. In 2005, Malone returned to Massachusetts as
Swampscott, Massachusetts Swampscott () is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located up the coast from Boston in an area known as the North Shore. The population was 15,111 as of the 2020 United States census. A former summer resort on Massachusetts ...
' superintendent of schools. In 2008, he informed the Swampscott school committee that he did not intend to renew his contract when it expired in 2010, citing a desire to return to an urban school district. Malone was a finalist for the superintendent's positions in
Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...
and
Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...
.


Brockton

On June 23, 2009, the Brockton school committee voted 4 to 3 to hire Malone as superintendent of Brockton Public Schools. During Malone's tenure as superintendent, he had to cut $12 million from the department budget and lay off almost 150 employees. Student performance at the high school and middle school level improved, but elementary school MCAS test lagged. At Malone's 2012 annual review, the school committee gave him a composite score of 2.77 out of 5. On November 7, 2012, Malone and the Brockton School Committee agreed to end his contract early. The early termination did not include a buyout or severance package. Both Malone and the school committee stated that the city's residency requirement contributed to his departure.


Secretary of education

On December 13, 2012, Governor
Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was the first African Americans, African-American Governor of Massachusetts and the first Democratic Pa ...
announced that Malone would replace Paul Reville as state education secretary. He was sworn into office on January 14, 2013. Malone led education in the Commonwealth for the Governor Patrick Administration focused on supporting students in classrooms, practitioners in the field, closing achievement gaps, and expanding opportunities for higher education.


Post-secretary career

In December 2014, Malone announced that he was planning to do an unpaid internship as a butcher following the end of Deval Patrick's term as governor. He also did some volunteer work and interviewed for college presidency positions. On October 8, 2015, the
Saugus, Massachusetts Saugus is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 28,619 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Saugus is known as the site of the first integrated iron work ...
school committee voted 3 to 2 to appoint Malone as interim superintendent. On February 5, 2016, attorneys for Malone and the school committee announced that Malone was resigning effective February 26 due to him and the committee having differing views on the role of a superintendent and the needs of the Saugus school system. On June 22, 2016, the Fall River school committee appointed Malone as the district's superintendent. Malone led the Fall River Public Schools for over five years, leading the system through the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and multiple school turnaround initiatives. In September 2020, the school committee received multiple complaints of inappropriate behavior by Malone towards subordinates. Malone allegedly harassed and used epithets towards a school department staffer with disabilities and referred to female employees using inappropriate names. In January 2021, the school committee voted 4 to 2 not to terminate Malone, but voted to amend his contract to reduce his compensation and allow for termination under "certain circumstances". In 2022, the employee who was allegedly bullied and harassed by Malone settled his discrimination complaints with the city for $150,000. In June 2021, Malone announced his resignation as superintendent, effective November 1st. Maria Pontes will serve as interim superintendent until a permanent replacement is installed. Malone currently works for the United States Department of Labor.


Personal life

Malone resides in
Roslindale Roslindale is a primarily residential neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, bordered by Jamaica Plain, Hyde Park, West Roxbury and Mattapan. It is served by an MBTA Commuter Rail line, several MBTA bus lines and the MBTA Oran ...
and has two children. He is a registered Republican. In 2013, he and a
Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...
court officer stopped a domestic assault in Dorchester.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malone, Matthew School superintendents in Massachusetts Lynch School of Education and Human Development alumni Massachusetts Republicans People from Roslindale People from Newton, Massachusetts State cabinet secretaries of Massachusetts American school principals Suffolk University alumni United States Marines Living people Year of birth missing (living people)