As an avid TV and film buff growing up in Minneapolis, Minn., Steve Mate developed a deep-rooted appreciation for the value of video as a tool to educate, entertain and influence young minds.
Today, in his roles as Board Member of the Sacramento Educational Cable Consortium (SECC) and Chief Technology Officer of the Elk Grove Unified School District, he sees those values every day in the numerous collaborations between the SECC and his District.
“Video is an important part of our everyday lives now,” Steve says. “Educational videos are an incredible way to promote ideas and communicate with others, and it lines up perfectly with what we’re doing here at Elk Grove Unified.”
The partnership with SECC to create educational videos for Elk Grove Unified “has been invaluable,” he adds. “SECC has helped to bring together local districts to be partners in major endeavors like BESTNet, and that spirit of collaboration has spread to other groups, too. So, we bring together PIOs [public information officers] and Edtech leaders from different districts to work together to try to solve common problems.”
After high school, Steve left the cold, snowy winters of Minnesota and headed west to sunny California for college. He received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Redlands, as well as a teaching credential in multiple subjects. He earned a master’s in educational technology from Pepperdine University and an administrative credential from Sacramento State.
Most people don’t know that Steve was a teacher in his earlier years in education, having taught elementary school and middle school language arts and history in Rialto and Antioch before moving into technology and administration.
Today, as Elk Grove Unified’s Chief Technology Officer, his job is to ensure that all of the District’s technology is working and maintained properly. He and his team support teachers, students and staff to ensure that the District’s computers, infrastructure and systems are up and working.
Steve says his most important K-12 experiences have come from his being a parent to his own children as students: “My kids had incredible teachers in school at Elk Grove Unified. When my kids came home and talked about their interactions, the personal connections that they make with the teachers — the teachers were incredible human beings and they helped my children grow.”
Looking to the future, Steve sees the partnership between SECC and Elk Grove Unified growing even stronger and more integral to the District’s educational mission.
Video and cable will continue to be “a big part of our community, and the partnerships that we have access to with Elk Grove, SECC and our local community will continue to be important. We’ll continue to to go more online and on demand — we might also start to get more into interactive video — and not rely as much on the cable channels anymore.”
Want to contact Steve? Write to him at smate@egusd.net
