Matt Raper

Dean of Culture and Climate - Middle School

mraper@ivyacademychattanooga.com

Matt Raper is Dean of Culture and Climate, Middle School.  He has taught middle school ELA at Ivy since 2018.    He has also received training in the International Baccalaureate Level 1 Approaches to Learning program.  

Matt’s two years of teaching in the inner city in New Orleans also helped shape his teaching.  He says it was “an experience that taught me compassion and opened my eyes to the different needs that students have.  Matt truly believes that teaching and learning should be fun and rewarding, and that the magic of education happens when a personal relationship is built between student and teacher.”  Matt incorporates the Neurosequential Model in Education and Whole Brain Teaching into his classroom.

Matt enjoys anything nature-related, such as studying birds and bats, hiking and riding motorcycles, and he likes cooking, baseball, drumming, jazz and folk music, reading and writing.

Matt chose Ivy because of the principles and vision it has for its students.  He says, “Students and teachers find fulfillment in the day-to-day process of education when students are taught to be good stewards of the earth, that service matters, and that honesty and integrity are skills that will open doors for them in life.” 

For service projects, Matt hopes to do trail maintenance, a project to promote bat conservation or fundraising through social activities.