Faculty and Staff
Dr. S. Lal Mattu
Ambassador-at-Large
Dr. S. Lal Mattu, currently carries the title of the Ambassador at Large. As the founder of Third Schools, he is no doubt in the best position to promote our schools among various community sectors. As an experienced educator and with his many successful years in administration, he has also assumed much needed role of a “mentor” to our strong leadership team.
Born in India, raised in the highlands of Kenya where he received his initial education and teaching certificate, he moved to England where after teaching for five years, he decided to move in 1967 to Canada. This was Canada’s centennial year and there was much excitement for the endless possibilities that the future held. To start, he was involved in the new adventure of the very early development of schools in northern Alberta.
Starting as a teacher and then a principal in a small school in a Metis colony, he was invited to Wainwright School Division as a teacher where he was very quickly promoted to a position of the Assistant Superintendent of Schools. This position provided him with the opportunity to expand his skills and knowledge about providing support and managing teachers and administrators throughout the district. At the same time, it provided him an important link with personnel at Alberta Education to learn about education and programme development throughout the Province. This resulted in his new initiatives in Early Childhood Education as well as programmes for children with learning disabilities.
Dr. Mattu was not only busy with his responsibilities associated with his role as the Assistant Superintendent, he was also invited to provide consultative and mentorship services to teachers in several Alberta districts in the development and implementation of resource rooms for children with learning disabilities. It also gave him exposure all over the Province with the result that he was regularly invited as keynote speaker. As well, he became a well-known resource for many provincial organizations, acting as an advisor and a consultant. Of particular note was his presentation on behalf of the Alberta Learning Disabilities Association to the Senate of the University of Alberta, which resulted in reassessment and changes to its Bachelor of Education programme. Specifically, courses dealing with teaching learning disabled children were, for the first time, included in the programme for teachers coming out of the University.
It was also during these years that he became motivated to finish his Bachelor of Sciences (Early Childhood/Reading) and Master of Education (Special Education/Administration) degrees at the University of Oregon in the United States. In his last year in Wainwright, he also finished his course requirements for a doctoral programme in Psychology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. He successfully completed his PhD a few years later after completing his dissertation, Role Analysis of Learning Disabilities Resource Room Teachers. As a result, he acquired a registered psychologist status of Alberta, Canadian and American Psychological Associations.
Dr. Mattu was then appointed as the first Superintendent of Schools of Jasper School District, where he once again established programmes for children with learning disabilities. After a short stay in Jasper, he was invited to become an Assistant Superintendent of Schools in the Shuswap District in Salmon Arm British Columbia. He considers this as his most challenging assignment. Here again, he implemented programmes for children with learning disabilities in some fifty schools as well as took charge of developing personnel policies. A few years later, he was elevated to the position of Superintendent in the District.
Born in India, raised in the highlands of Kenya where he received his initial education and teaching certificate, he moved to England where after teaching for five years, he decided to move in 1967 to Canada. This was Canada’s centennial year and there was much excitement for the endless possibilities that the future held. To start, he was involved in the new adventure of the very early development of schools in northern Alberta.
Starting as a teacher and then a principal in a small school in a Metis colony, he was invited to Wainwright School Division as a teacher where he was very quickly promoted to a position of the Assistant Superintendent of Schools. This position provided him with the opportunity to expand his skills and knowledge about providing support and managing teachers and administrators throughout the district. At the same time, it provided him an important link with personnel at Alberta Education to learn about education and programme development throughout the Province. This resulted in his new initiatives in Early Childhood Education as well as programmes for children with learning disabilities.
Dr. Mattu was not only busy with his responsibilities associated with his role as the Assistant Superintendent, he was also invited to provide consultative and mentorship services to teachers in several Alberta districts in the development and implementation of resource rooms for children with learning disabilities. It also gave him exposure all over the Province with the result that he was regularly invited as keynote speaker. As well, he became a well-known resource for many provincial organizations, acting as an advisor and a consultant. Of particular note was his presentation on behalf of the Alberta Learning Disabilities Association to the Senate of the University of Alberta, which resulted in reassessment and changes to its Bachelor of Education programme. Specifically, courses dealing with teaching learning disabled children were, for the first time, included in the programme for teachers coming out of the University.
It was also during these years that he became motivated to finish his Bachelor of Sciences (Early Childhood/Reading) and Master of Education (Special Education/Administration) degrees at the University of Oregon in the United States. In his last year in Wainwright, he also finished his course requirements for a doctoral programme in Psychology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. He successfully completed his PhD a few years later after completing his dissertation, Role Analysis of Learning Disabilities Resource Room Teachers. As a result, he acquired a registered psychologist status of Alberta, Canadian and American Psychological Associations.
Dr. Mattu was then appointed as the first Superintendent of Schools of Jasper School District, where he once again established programmes for children with learning disabilities. After a short stay in Jasper, he was invited to become an Assistant Superintendent of Schools in the Shuswap District in Salmon Arm British Columbia. He considers this as his most challenging assignment. Here again, he implemented programmes for children with learning disabilities in some fifty schools as well as took charge of developing personnel policies. A few years later, he was elevated to the position of Superintendent in the District.