Curriculum vitae

Matthew Ignash

Instructional Leadership · Curriculum & Assessment Coherence · IB Diploma Programme Work · People & Operations · Responsible AI
Contact  ·  LinkedIn  ·  matthewignash.com
One record, read three ways. Choosing an emphasis moves the most relevant work to the top of Leadership and impact; nothing is hidden. Request the full CV for the version written for that role, which also carries references.

Profile

I am an instructional leader and head of department who grows people and improves systems at the same time. I lead an eight-teacher science department across grades 6 to 12, supervise staff through a structured annual growth cycle with formal appraisal, and manage a zero-based budget of around US$50,000. Across four countries I have built the data and assessment systems a school runs on, served on accreditation visiting teams, sat on hiring panels from lab technician to Head of School, and designed wellbeing routines that lower stress while improving support. I build capacity before tools. Wellbeing is at the heart of how I lead: caring for students and staff is what lets a community take on the harder questions about where education is going.

Leadership & impact

Team and people leadershipLead an eight-teacher science department across grades 6 to 12; mentor teachers on IB implementation, moderation, and calibration; built Compass Point, a transparent leadership-development pathway for colleagues, green-lit for 2026-27.
Staff supervision and appraisalSupervise two lab technicians, running their annual feedback and growth cycle with Assistant Principal sign-off. Direct line-management with a formal appraisal process.
HiringServed on hiring panels for Head of School, Principal, Assistant Principal, teaching, and technical staff.
IB programme workDesigned and run a five-session internal assessment programme for the school's whole IB science cohort, across Biology, Chemistry and Physics at both levels, including students taught by colleagues. Led the transition of the Collaborative Science Project into grade 11, connecting it to students' CAS hours and to the middle school SAVAI programme, with a judged panel presentation at Middle School STEAM Week. Both running again in 2026-27.
Assessment and calibrationEstablished department moderation protocols: common success criteria, exemplars, blind double-marking, and routine calibration. Built an IB internal-assessment moderation tool pairing assessment expertise with an IBIS export.
Internal assessment outcomes, Chemistry and Physics
Moderated IABeforeAfter
IA entries2215
Mean grade4.75.6
At grade 5 or above55%87%
At grade 6 or above27%60%
At grade 3 or below18%none

Chemistry and Physics combined, both levels, before and after the programme was introduced. Biology is excluded because the earlier year's data was not available to me. Figures count IA entries rather than students, since some candidates sit both subjects, and each year is a different cohort.

The top band did not move, and I would not expect it to. A seven is scrutinised closely by moderators because it indicates near-perfection, and students who reach one were generally always going to. The change sits in the lower half: the grade four band halved and nothing fell below it. That is where the workshop was aimed. When students understand what the task is actually asking of them, the internal assessment becomes approachable, and that shows up here first.

Curriculum coherenceLed a K-12 review of scientific skills, thinking, and dispositions; built a live vertical-alignment map giving one shared view of skill development from grade 6 to grade 12; rebuilt a full Earth and Environmental Science course around four throughlines across eight units.
Whole-school systems and dataFacilitate the Data Systems Council and authored its proposal to grow the school's data use and literacy; partnered with IT and the EAL director on a standalone WIDA dashboard; coordinated MAP K to 12; led the design of a school-wide digital hall-pass system with a cross-functional IT and admin team.
Professional learning beyond one schoolFounded and run AI Coding for Educators, a public programme where teachers build practical classroom tools with AI. Designed the model, built the site, gallery and submission pipeline, and recruit a rotating roster of international hosts, classroom teachers, podcast hosts and consultants, who each set one month's challenge from a real need in their own practice. Everything MIT licensed and free to use. First full monthly cycle from September 2026.
Student voice and policyCo-facilitate the Student Advisory Forum with the High School Principal and lead it day to day. Set the agenda, run the meetings, and steer the group's projects, currently including school guidance on AI use and student behaviour.
Student wellbeing, behaviour and duty of careSafeguarding trained. Residential trip lead for 20 students, in that role across multiple years. Ran grade-level meetings on students of concern, academic and behavioural, with counsellor and teacher follow-up. Ran PASS and Challenge Success wellbeing data cycles.
Operations and budgetOwn a zero-based department budget of around US$50,000; oversaw the renovation of the middle school science labs and helped plan lab safety upgrades and the renovation of preparation areas; led adoption of a digital lab-management system aligning inventory, requests, and safety workflows.
AccreditationCIS accreditation visiting team member. Previously a member of a combined CIS and IB accreditation team, co-facilitating Domain A on mission and vision.
Innovation and responsible AII build the systems described above rather than buying them: the vertical-alignment map, the IB internal assessment moderation tool with its IBIS export, the school-wide digital hall pass, and a reflection tool tracking student self-assessment against tagged success criteria. Designed a three-arm classroom study measuring what students actually build with AI. Use AI carefully, protecting privacy and integrity, and keeping human judgment central.
Family and communityLed plain-language parent workshops on assessment and learning; prepared board and parent briefs with clear KPIs.

Experience

American International School Chennai

2023 to present
Teacher · Head of Department · Data Council Lead
IB Chemistry, IB Physics, AP Chemistry, Earth & Environmental Science, G10 Chemistry, G9 Biology

Department leadership across grades 6 to 12, with supervision, appraisal, and a zero-based budget. School-wide IB science internal assessment programme. Collaborative Science Project transition into grade 11, connected to CAS and to middle school STEAM Week. Vertical-alignment map and the K-12 scientific skills review. Whole-school data and AI systems, and ongoing PD for staff building their own tools.

Beijing City International School

2018 to 2023
Teacher · House Coordinator · Data Committee Lead · Accreditation Team
IB Chemistry, IB Physics, MYP Sciences (grades 9 and 10)

MAP coordination and board reporting; the MAP and WIDA dashboards and an external-assessment review. Combined CIS and IB accreditation team, co-facilitating Domain A. Personal project supervision, and contributed to a revision of the personal project programme to strengthen scaffolding and enrichment. Designed a grade 6 to 12 House System. Ran grade-level meetings on students of concern.

The American School of Bangkok

2015 to 2018
Teacher · Data & Technology Integrator
AP Biology, AP Chemistry, G9 Biology, G10 Chemistry, Anatomy & Physiology, G6 Science, EAL Support

MAP testing K to 9; IXL and Achieve3000 rollouts; tiered interventions with counselors; assessment briefs and visuals for board meetings.

Southern High School, Louisville, Kentucky

2010 to 2015
Teacher · Technology Integration Specialist
AP Chemistry, Honors Chemistry, G10 Chemistry

A 1:1 iPad program for grades 9 to 12; required state reporting; assessment and program reports for the Principal.

Advisory & community leadership

IB Chemistry BootcampInvited participant in the programme through which the IB shapes the next iteration of the Chemistry course.
Vibecoding TeachMeetTwo recorded video sessions, Random Name Pickers and Quick-Check Polling, for the TeachMeet organised by Emma Faulkner and Gideon Williams.
CISAccreditation visiting team member, 2023 to present.

Education, development & recognition

Education

M.A. Education, Western Kentucky University (2011)
Post-Masters Educational Leadership Certificate, The College of New Jersey (2021)
B.S. Biochemistry & Biology, Central Michigan University (2008)

Professional development

Adaptive Schools (2023) · IB Chemistry Cat. 2 (2023) · CIS Accreditation Training (2023) · IB Chemistry IA Cat. 3 (2022) · Data in Schools, GESS Singapore (2024) · Safeguarding, AISC and BCIS

Presentations & media

Vibecoding TeachMeet (2026) · AISC PD Series (2025) · Data in Schools, GESS Singapore (2024) · ACAMIS Tech Conference (2019) · Podcasts: The International Classroom, Smarter Campus

Publications & writing

Day, M., Smith, L. A., & Ignash, M. (2013). 5E Learning Cycle and the Gas Laws. Journal of Laboratory Chemical Education, 1(4). · Substack, 63 posts on classroom AI, curriculum, and school systems

Affiliations & involvement

CIS Accreditation Visiting Member · NSTA · SAISA Track & Field Head Coach · Biology Olympiad · Theatre production support

References available on request, and included with the full document.

matthewignash.com
An instructional leader who builds systems and develops people, across four countries.