MATTHEW BEATA
Director
Mr. Beata has been Director of Uruguayan American School since 2015. Before coming to UAS, Mr. Beata was the Middle School Principal at Nido de Aguilas in Santiago, Chile, a position he held for ten years. He earned his B.A. summa cum laude in English Language and Literature from State University of New York at Stony Brook, an M.A. in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan, and a Masters in Educational Leadership from Lehigh University. Mr. Beata began his career in education as a Middle School Language Arts teacher at John Wilson Intermediate School 211 in Brooklyn, New York. In 1997, Mr. Beata joined Nido where he taught Middle School Language Arts, High School English, and directed the summer school before becoming Middle School Principal.
MICHAEL BYRNE
Secondary Principal
Mr. Byrne has been Secondary School Principal since 2016. Before coming to UAS, Mr. Byrne was the Associate Principal at Colegio Nueva Granada in Bogotá, Colombia for four years. Prior to that he served as Assistant Principal for three years at the American School in Quito, Ecuador. Before going overseas Mr. Byrne was an Assistant Principal and district-level administrator at Winter Park High School and Seminole County schools in Florida. Mr. Byrne has also served as a guidance counselor, special education teacher, and Spanish teacher. He holds a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University, an M.A. in Secondary School Counseling and a B.A. in Education, both from Morehead State University.
M. VICTORIA PLACERES
Elementary Principal
Ms. Placeres was appointed Early Childhood and Elementary School Principal in 2016. She has been working at UAS for the past twelve years. Before taking her current position, Ms. Placeres worked as the Elementary School Coordinator, Curriculum Coordinator, Advanced Placement/Testing Coordinator, ELL Secondary Coordinator, and ELL Secondary Teacher. Prior to working at UAS, Ms. Placeres worked at four private bilingual elementary schools in Montevideo and taught Grades 1- 6. Ms. Placeres holds a B.A. in Educational Sciences from Universidad de la República (UDELAR); a Teacher TESOL certification from Trinity College London; a K-12 Leadership Certificate from Kaplan University; and is currently working on her Masters in Educational Leadership at Lehigh University.
ANEP-CEIP - Colegio Habilitado Nº 163
ANEP-CODICEN - Exp. Nº 907.778
Saldún de Rodríguez 2375. Montevideo, Uruguay
Phone: (598) 26007681