QCSD welcomes new Superintendent

Dr. Matthew Friedman, a high­ly respect­ed edu­ca­tion­al leader in dis­tricts in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, was sworn in as the next super­in­ten­dent of the Quakertown Community School District on Wednesday, July 5.

President Judge Wallace H. Bateman Jr. admin­is­tered the Oath of Office to Dr. Friedman, who shared the excit­ing moment with his fam­i­ly — wife Rebecca, and chil­dren Hannah, Rachel, and Ethan — mem­bers of the QCSD admin­is­tra­tion and School Board in the Bucks County Justice Center.

“I am excit­ed for this incred­i­ble oppor­tu­ni­ty,” Dr. Friedman said. “It is a true priv­i­lege and hon­or to be part of this amaz­ing school com­mu­ni­ty, and I am hum­bled by it.  I look for­ward to part­ner­ing with all stake­hold­ers in this upcom­ing jour­ney to accom­plish the District’s mis­sion and vision to pre­pare our stu­dents for life after grad­u­a­tion as well-rounded, respon­si­ble indi­vid­u­als and engaged cit­i­zens who con­tribute their knowl­edge and skills to our glob­al community.”

He said hav­ing so many peo­ple on hand to wit­ness his swearing-in cer­e­mo­ny “made it that much more spe­cial for me and my family.” 

Dr. Friedman replaces Dr. Bill Harner, who retired after lead­ing QCSD for near­ly a decade. 

Board President Glenn Iosue said “We are thrilled to wel­come Dr. Friedman in guid­ing Quakertown Community School District.  Dr. Friedman is a pas­sion­ate edu­ca­tor and vision­ary leader.  He will advance the edu­ca­tion of our stu­dents and con­tin­ue to bring our schools to an even high­er and more suc­cess­ful level.”

Dr. Friedman, pre­vi­ous­ly Superintendent of Ocean City (NJ) School District, was approved in a unan­i­mous vote by the QCSD School Board at a Special Call meet­ing on March 28. He is a grad­u­ate of the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and oth­er dis­tin­guished uni­ver­si­ties. He began his career 24 years ago as a teacher and tru­ly loved his time in the class­room. He real­ized, how­ev­er, the need to make an impact on more stu­dents and became an administrator.

Dr. Friedman, who signed a four-year con­tract, was hired after a four-month nation­al search. The search includ­ed a com­mu­ni­ty sur­vey that received hun­dreds of respons­es, mul­ti­ple inter­views with the School Board along with stake­hold­er group inter­views with par­ents, com­mu­ni­ty lead­ers, prin­ci­pals, admin­is­tra­tors, teach­ers, pro­fes­sion­al office staff, and sup­port staff.

Dr. Friedman has a wealth of expe­ri­ence. He advanced in his career with posi­tions of increas­ing respon­si­bil­i­ty over the years. This has includ­ed Assistant Principal, Chief Academic Officer, Assistant Superintendent, and Superintendent at top-ranked schools. He makes tremen­dous strides in imple­ment­ing suc­cess­ful and inno­v­a­tive pro­grams to help stu­dents improve their per­for­mance in pur­su­ing col­lege or a career.

“I am stu­dent and fam­i­ly focused and com­mit­ted to build­ing upon best prac­tices to ensure that cur­rent and future stu­dents have oppor­tu­ni­ties to explore their inter­ests and find their true pas­sions,” Dr. Friedman said. “I also look for­ward to lis­ten­ing and learn­ing from — tru­ly part­ner­ing with — all stake­hold­ers in our com­mu­ni­ty. It’s time for all of us to do great things, and I’m excit­ed to get started.”