A Portage Life in the Spotlight: Yolanda Matthews

Yolanda Matthews is the director of Learning Tree Academy and has worked there for 2 years. She is a selfless leader and loves watching others grow.

“I love seeing the children at Learning Tree Academy grow,” she said. “Being a director, I get to see the teachers develop as well. I get to see them grow.”

Matthews is very collaborative and leans on her teachers’ experience and expertise to create the best learning environment possible at Learning Tree Academy. She is very open with her team and appreciates what they have to bring to the table on a daily basis.

“I get to share things with them about life and work,” she said. “We work together as a team to bring the best to our students and ensure that no day is ever boring. I appreciate all of them.”

A Hoosier since birth, Matthews grew up in Gary. Prior to coming to Learning Tree Academy, Matthews considered taking a pause in education to become an ultrasound tech. This consideration is what eventually led her to come to Learning Tree Academy.

“After my last academy, I had plans to take a break and become an ultrasound tech,” she said. “Someone called me and said ‘You can’t leave the field. You’re very good at it.’”

After some encouragement to stay in education and simply consider a move to a new academy for a fresh start, Matthews applied for her current role at Learning Tree Academy. The fact that she has remained in education has played a major influence on other local lives.

Matthew finds it very important to instill leadership skills in her students.

“I want them to be leaders,” she said. “When they leave Learning Tree Academy, I want them to be true individuals, unafraid to stand on their own and create their own path with their unique gifts and talents.”

Matthews has two children of her own. In her free time, she spends as much time with them and her husband Cornell as possible. As a mother, she is shaping and forming her own little lives. Free time with her children is often spent outside walking and hiking.

“We love spending time outdoors, and we are outdoors as much as possible,” she said. “We love the summer.”

Matthews brings her talent working with children in her role as director of Learning Tree Academy and her role as mother. In her school community and in the general local community, she has a strong reputation for how she relates to children by teaching, molding, and shaping them to head into their own futures better able to tackle what comes their way. She wants them to become fierce, independent leaders. Perhaps someday, these children will also do the same for other children.