Meet the State Superintendent candidates: Gus Mattammal, educational testing and tutoring service director

Gus Mattammal is running for state superintendent of public instruction.

Credit: Gus Mattammal’s campaign

Gus Mattammal says he’s the only candidate for California superintendent of public instruction who combines experience as an educator and business executive with a personal background growing up in a marginalized, low-income community. 

Mattammal is the director of Advantage Testing of Silicon Valley, which provides educational tutoring and test preparation services, where he has worked for 22 years and helped expand its pro bono programs nationwide. He’s also spent those years as an educator at Advantage Testing and authored “A Is for Average: Why California’s Public Schools Struggle, and How You Can Help.” 

Mattammal is the president of the housing and infrastructure organization SHIFT-Bay Area and sits on countywide boards, including the Midcoast Community Council and the Community Advisory Committee for the San Mateo County Transportation Authority. 

“I know what it does to a community when a public school at the heart of it is just not working,” Mattammal said. “It really punches a hole right in the heart of a community.”

Mattammal grew up in St. Louis, where he said he was the only kid on his block to graduate from high school and attend college. 

“Education was my hand up,” he said. “Education is a hand up. It’s not a handout, and it could be a hand up for a lot more kids in California than it actually is.” 

To Mattammal, the state superintendent is the most underused resource for driving change. He hopes the scope of the position isn’t altered as proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who wants to shift power to a new education commissioner to be appointed by the next governor. 

If elected, he said he would use data to drive decisions and pressure the state Legislature and school boards to create change. He plans to visit school districts, learn about what is and isn’t going well, and work to generate solutions.

“I think districts are the laboratories of education,” he said.

His ultimate goals include all students being “able to read a book, do math and get a job.” 

Mattammal has raised $83,799 in campaign donations as of March 31. Previously, as a California congressional candidate, he was endorsed by the California Republican Party and San Francisco Young Republicans, among others. 

Also in the race are Wendy Casteneda-Leal, Ainye Long and Frank Lara. 

Casteneda-Leal is the superintendent of the Semitropic School District in Fresno County, and has worked for several school districts. She holds a master’s in administrative leadership and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from Capella University. As of April 20, she has not filed any campaign finance forms. 

Long, of Berkeley, is a math teacher in the San Francisco Unified School District. According to her LinkedIn profile, she previously served as a regional superintendent and board member for Amethod Public Schools, a lead teacher for YPI Charter Schools and a director at the California Charter Schools Association. She holds a bachelor’s degree from UC Santa Cruz. She has not filed any campaign finance forms as of April 20.

Lara, based in San Francisco, was born to immigrant parents and has taught for more than a decade, including in San Francisco Unified. He serves as executive vice president of United Educators of San Francisco. Lara is a recipient of the Teacher 4 Social Justice “Thank a Social Justice Teacher” award and the 826 Valencia “Teacher of the Month” award. He is a graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Lara has received $19,611 in contributions.