Matt Keefauver is the new director of Southwest Open School, according to an announcement on the school’s Facebook page on April 3.
Previous director Charlotte Wolf announced her upcoming resignation in November, according to the post.
Keefauver is the previous assistant director of SWOS and served as interim director during the search.
The post stated that the search committee included school district, student, faculty, administrative and board representation.
“I am thrilled about working with so many talented individuals, staff, students and families, as we meet those challenges,” Keefauver said in the post.
Keefauver has worked in education for 24 years and has a master’s degree in linguistically diverse education. He began at SWOS in June 2017 as the assistant director.
He taught sixth- through ninth-grade math at Cortez Middle School and fourth grade at Kemper Elementary School for four years.
In addition, Keefauver served two terms on the Cortez City Council and is an owner at Cliffrose Garden Center and owns his own business, Tierra Mardre Herbs.
Keefauver said he plans to revisit the alternative learning approaches at SWOS.
“I am really excited for the future,” Keefauver said. “Primarily personalized pathways and experiential education.”