Written by: Ansley Hall and published in The Martinsburg Journal on May 5, 2025, link to the article HERE.
MARTINSBURG — Dr. Matthew Woods joins Berkeley County Schools as the Deputy Superintendent of Instruction and Leadership Services. As a part of a restructuring by Superintendent Ryan Saxe, this position will streamline various responsibilities, focusing on education, athletics, staff leadership and more.
Woods has worked in education for approximately 16 years, serving in many different roles. He started as a high school social studies teacher and later served as a middle and high school assistant principal, middle school principal, director of student support services, assistant superintendent of student support services, adjunct professor and field instructor for student-teachers.
Woods didn’t always want to go into education. Despite coming from a family of educators, he was convinced he wanted to do something else. His mother was a teacher, so he often saw her working hard after school to grade papers and deal with other responsibilities. One day when he was grocery shopping with his mom, a lady came up to her and started talking about how she was one of the best teachers she ever had. He saw for the first time what a big impact his mother had on her students and realized he wanted to do the same thing.
“I never saw someone who looked at my mom that way,” Woods said. “I wanted to have the same effect. In that moment I pivoted my plans to go to school as an engineer and decided to become a teacher.”
Woods and his family are familiar with the Martinsburg area and would often pass through on their way to visit family. When the opportunity opened up, Woods was eager to join the Berkeley County Schools team. He officially began his new position on April 28, giving him time to observe, learn and prepare for the future of Berkeley County Schools. His main goal is to start learning more about the community, building relationships and visiting many of the schools to find the needs among staff and students.
“I firmly believe that every child can succeed,” Woods said. “I want to find out what we are doing to promote growth in all kids and what we are doing to make that child a better person. When the come to school on Monday and then come back on Tuesday, I want them to come in a better person than they were before.”
Woods hopes to use his leadership to bring together the various voices and create a proper vision of the future for Berkeley County Schools. He looks forward to working with Superintendent Ryan Saxe to improve students’ education.