Dermoth Mattison, the founder and Executive Director of South Shore Charter School is an experienced school administrator whose educational philosophy is rooted in the core belief that all children, no matter their race, culture, or socio-economic status, can learn and perform at high levels. He is a Suffolk County resident with over 15 years’ experience in charter school leadership. He is a married father of three wonderful children.
Upon completing a Master’s Degree in Childhood Education, he spent several years teaching in New York City Charter Schools. Through intensive academic interventions, he successfully closed the achievement gap by large margins each year in literacy and math while serving in low-income communities. After demonstrating leadership and delivering consistent high academic results in the classroom, Mr. Mattison was promoted to serve as an Assistant Principal in a Bedford-Stuyvesant Charter School. During this time, he also obtained a Master’s in Educational Leadership and Administration and his New York State School Building Leadership and School District Leadership Certifications. After years of successful results, Mr. Mattison was assigned to serve as Principal of The Academy Charter School in Hempstead, New York. There he led a team that helped students make unprecedented academic gains. During his six years as Principal, the school outperformed the Hempstead School District by 45+ percentage points each year on the NYS ELA and Math Exams. He also helped the organization scale up to K-12 and replicate to serve other high needs communities. Under his tenure, the school was recognized by the New York State Dept. of Education as a reward school for high achievement and high progress. Mr. Mattison was also appointed to serve as the Senior Network Principal.
After having served the Hempstead community for several years in Nassau County, Mr. Mattison transitioned to fulfil his vision to establish a high performing charter school to serve students and families in the Eastern Suffolk County region where he resides. He discovered that families in neighboring communities were struggling to find high quality affordable alternatives to their underperforming school districts. Several local pastors and community leaders from the region also met with Mr. Mattison to share their concerns about the continued poor performance of these School Districts and the need for a high-performing charter school. Following these meetings, Mr. Mattison assembled a founding team of educators and parents to better understand the needs of families.
Mr. Mattison brought the founding team together to develop key aspects of the school’s design. He led the effort to engage the community through forums, focus groups and street canvassing. He also dedicated time to connecting with key community leaders, local civic leaders, business leaders and other stakeholders. Mr. Mattison was the lead applicant and the primary author of the charter application submitted to SUNY. On October 7, 2021, the SUNY Charter School Institute’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve South Shore Charter School’s application. Mr. Mattison and his team are humbled and honored to be able to provide an educational program that fosters innovative thinking to the Central Islip region. His vision is to provide students with the tools necessary to become innovative and socially responsible leaders who will develop solutions to the challenges facing our society.
