Who is Clara Kennedy Witherspoon, District 4 CMS Board of Education candidate?
Name: Clara Kennedy Witherspoon
School board seat you’re seeking: District 4, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education
Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 65
Campaign website: www.cspoon22.org
Email: cwitherspoonforschoolboard22@gmail.com
Occupation: Retired MTSS specialist/school counselor
Education: BA in Psychology North Carolina Central University Master of Science in education, school counseling and school administration University of the Southwest; MA in christian leadership Liberty University.
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought): No
Please list your highlights of civic involvement: I provided volunteer community engagement through GPM Inc. nonprofit youth agency
What qualities, skills and experiences do you think would make a good superintendent for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools?
1. Knowledge and skills in recognizing and hiring skilled leaders to work on an executive team. 2. Lead through a system of care and respect. 3. Encourage others to buy into vision for school improvement. 4. Use research to identify best models to decrease learning gaps. 5. Skilled in developing effective budgets based upon a business design. 6. Effective accountability. 7. Utilize data to drive school improvement throughout the district.
CMS, along with other districts across the country and state, has lost a lot of teachers. What are your ideas to keep teachers in CMS classrooms?
A competitive teacher salary, professional development and equitable resources. It’s also important to address the whole teacher, emphasizing the teacher’s social and emotional needs and being supported by their school leaders. Equitable leadership and/or bonus opportunities to teachers who have demonstrated student academic success. Lastly, provide a peer support system for new teachers.
What solutions would you offer to improve student and employee safety on CMS school campuses?
Organize and create a well-qualified safety team with experience. Safety levels implemented in every school: Securing points of entry, metal detectors, resource officers in all schools, PBIS and behavior management system established in all schools.
How do you define CMS’ achievement gap? How can CMS bridge the achievement gap, raise test scores and get the 50 district schools off of the low-performing list?
Achievement gaps are linked to equity, equality for all students, and a lack of resources to run an effective school. Research has shown that a robust implementation of a multi-tiered support system (MTSS) will provide the interventions needed for students needing remediation due to academic skill deficiencies. However, low-performing schools face challenges in implementing the framework due to a lack of resources.
Why should voters choose you over your opponents?
I bring experience from the role of a licensed school counselor and a retired Multi-Tiered System of Support Specialist with CMS. Before returning to CMS, I worked as an executive eirector for GPM Inc, a 501 C3 agency, and director of a 21st Century Community Learning Center funded by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. My work experience collaborating with community partners brought value to connecting resources and services for families and children.
This story was originally published October 3, 2022 at 12:59 PM.
