Even while approaching his 27th year with Erlanger-Elsmere Independent School District, Superintendent Matt Engel thought hard about taking the job. 

Engel was named superintendent in February, but assumed the role in July.

Doing right by the schools and streets that raised him is something he takes seriously. 

“I’ve done life here,” Engel told LINK nky.

“I feel terribly beholden to this community,” he said. 

But even as some of the weight of the responsibility set in, his purpose became clear. 

While moving into his office, Engel was running through a laundry list of to-dos — not limited to the Lloyd Memorial High School renovation project — when he discovered a collection of letters from his former students. 

His colleague, Lloyd Memorial High School Principal Mike Key, found the bright green folder and handed it to Engel. 

“He comes over and is just like ‘Hey, let’s not forget why you’re here,’” Engel said. 

“To have forgotten about it … the timing of it was just perfect,” he said. 

Last week in his office, Engel again thumbed through the letters, recalling details about each one of his former students — their strengths, their hardships, where he’d seen them last.  

Engel, a Lloyd High School graduate, is an English teacher at heart. 

But when starting a family, he began exploring leadership positions, first as high school assistant principal, then becoming principal at Arnett Elementary School. 

Engel then joined district leadership more than a decade ago as supervisor of instruction, then became assistant superintendent in 2020. 

“You figure out pretty quickly if you do or don’t have the skills that others gravitate towards,” Engel said. 

Leading Arnett solidified his belief that he could lead a district, he said. 

Engel believes his job as superintendent is to understand the systems that change outcomes for all kids, regardless of the hurdles they may face inside or outside the classroom. 

Though he firmly believes the district’s bottom line is academic achievement, those metrics come from ensuring all students have the social and emotional support they need, he said.

“Of course we want to improve those scores,” Engel said. “The key is, are we doing it the right way?” 

Engel believes his district can, and will, because that’s its charge. 

“It’s your job to move the needle for every one of those kids,” he said. 

This school year, Engel is especially looking forward to meeting all of the families in the Erlanger-Elsmere community he hasn’t had the chance to meet yet. 

And when he’s not helming the district, he’s spending free time with family and friends, or recharging in solitude while hunting and fishing.