Charter & Partner Schools

Matt has served as Executive Director of the Office of Charter & Partner Schools since January 2019.  Previously, Matt worked as a principal and as Executive Director for 12 years at the Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School (ANCS), an APS charter school that was named Georgia Charter School of the Year in 2015.  He has also taught in middle and high school in Georgia, Illinois, New York City, and Massachusetts. Matt has a B.A. from Northwestern University and a M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He lives with his wife and kids in southeast Atlanta.  He has a goal of seeing a game at every Major League Baseball stadium (16 down so far) and running a marathon in every state (only 44 to go!). Matt can be reached via email at matthew.underwood@apsk12.org.

Shonda started with Atlanta Public Schools in May 2022 and serves as a project manager for the Office of Charter + Partner Schools.  In this role, Shonda is primarily responsible for managing compliance-related tasks for charter and partner schools, including facilitating the charter start-up petition and renewal process.  Before coming to APS, Shonda served as the Title I Assistant Director with the Florida Department of Education.  Prior to that, Shonda worked with the FDOE’s general counsel as a policy analyst with the Office of Early Learning.  Shonda was also a paralegal for 15 years.  She holds a M.S. in criminal justice with a minor in education.  Shonda has three children—a daughter who is an art therapy teacher in Florida, a son who is a graduate student at Northwestern University, and another daughter who is a student at North Carolina A&T.  Shonda enjoys family gatherings, traveling, and cooking. Shonda can be reached via email at shonda.goldsmith@apsk12.org.

Nick serves as the Special Education & Student Support Services Coordinator for Atlanta Public Schools’ Office of Charter & Partner Schools, providing oversight, guidance, and support to the districts’ charter and partner schools.  He is a native of Trinidad raised in Jamaica Queens, New York. He has fourteen years of experience in the field of special education. Much of those years were spent in the classroom as a special education teacher before taking on the role of special education lead teacher supporting two elementary schools in Atlanta Public Schools. Nick holds a B.A. from the University at Buffalo, M.Ed. from the University at West Georgia in educational leadership, and Ed.S. from Georgia State University in educational leadership. Nick can be reached via email at nekhan@apsk12.org.

Chad joined the Office of Charter + Partner Schools team in February 2024. A native of the Midwest, he has over 15 years of experience in K-12 education as a classroom teacher, assistant principal, principal, and central office leader. Prior to launching a career in education administration, Chad worked in Spanish/English bilingual schools in San Pedro Sula, Honduras and in Boston Public Schools.  Chad earned an undergraduate degree from Northwestern College and a M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Outside of work, Chad is an avid traveler, having visited over 30 countries in the world, and he also serves as a volunteer personal finance educator. His greatest joy is spending time with his wife, a fellow educator, and their young daughter. Chad can be reached via email at chad.veldecabrera@apsk12.org.