Matin Abdel-Qawi

High School Network Superintendent, Oakland Unified School District

Matin Abdel-Qawi has been an equity-centered educational leader in Oakland Unified School District for over twenty years. As a middle school teacher, he realized the need to bring Oakland’s legacy of social activism to the classroom. He advocated for every scholar to have access to algebra in the eighth grade. As a high school teacher, he witnessed the inequalities his students suffered, which ignited his drive to push for rigorous and safe learning environments for every Oakland scholar. As the Founding Principal of East Oakland School of the Arts, he created a small autonomous school founded on the belief that any student will perform at high levels when given the love and support needed. After leading the school for seven years, he took his experience of advocating for African American male students and became the Director of African American Male Achievement’s Manhood Development Program and designed and started several programs at schools around the district. In 2013, Abdel-Qawi became the Principal of Oakland High School where he creates systems and programs that are rooted in equity, diversity and access for every student. Abdel-Qawi holds an MA from the University of California, Berkeley.