By Eliza Ridgeway

Neely

Rome has won out over Mountain View for Matt Neely, a city councilman and assistant principal at Mountain View High School. Neely accepted a job as principal with the American Overseas School of Rome and plans to move there with his wife, Erica, in July.

The Italian school houses a diverse community of students ranging from children of well-off locals to United Nations workers, State Department employees and American military personnel. The student body in a given year represents as many as 55 countries. Examining privilege and talking about it has already been a priority for Neely at Mountain View High, and he said he plans to continue that in Rome.

“Effectively, these are the future global leaders - there is an obligation to teach them what leadership means in the 21st century,” Neely said.

Neely laughed about the idea of pursuing a political career in Italy and said he doesn’t expect to return to public office in the foreseeable future. “It’s pretty clear my passion is education, but I love policy-making. Certainly there will be a political element to the work I do, as (the school) is in the diplomatic community.”

Neely said he looks forward to testing his skills as an educator working with a campus of 3- to 19-year-olds. The school enrolls 600 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade and will provide a big change from Mountain View’s 1,800 ninth to 12th graders, with whom Neely has worked for 15 years.

“I’m absolutely looking forward to having a smaller school. We have maintained that family feel (at Mountain View) even with an open campus; nevertheless, we’re big,” he said.

Neely said he and his wife hope to spend the next decade abroad in part because they hope to have children who can grow up bilingual with a “global perspective.” He has been outspoken about the economics behind his move, citing the skyrocketing cost of housing in the area. He connects the issue with the work he hopes yet to do on the Mountain View City Council.

“I hope to keep talking about poverty and race,” Neely said. “It’s very challenging to understand with middle-class, upper-class and lower-class means. How do people who live here empathize with and communicate with members of the community who will never be able to live here - including their own children?”

Neely said he is proud of the progress the city has made in affordable housing. “Mountain View is a leader in this county,” he said. “We have the will - that’s how we do it. I want to keep pushing housing, keep a dialogue with neighbors.”

He also cited his work on youth issues as one of his accomplishments. “That’s more of a quiet victory, and I’d like to get that out there - keeping summer camp fees low, letting poor kids go to yoga class and ballet like rich kids get to.”

Child care, another issue Neely lists as an important subject during his tenure on the council, is receiving increasing attention on a national level. “People are starting to say, ‘Maybe we should offer child care to children,’” he said. “I think we’re poised to do what other progressive societies have done. That will be fun to watch.”

Erica Neely works for the Community Foundation of Silicon Valley. The couple are studying Italian online in preparation for the move.

For more information, visit www.aosr.com.