Who is Michael Watson, District 6 CMS Board of Education candidate?
Name: Michael Watson
School board seat you’re seeking: District 6, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education
Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 41
Campaign website: www.watsonforcms.com
Email: admin@watsonforcms.com
Occupation: IT executive
Education: Bachelor of science IT/computer science
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought): No
Please list your highlights of civic involvement: Three years on the SLT team at Polo Ridge Elementary School. Three years on the SLT of Jay M Robinson Middle School. VP of special events Polo Ridge PTA and president of Jay M Robinson PTA. Social media co-chair at Ardrey Kell High. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board member for the College of Engineering at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
What qualities, skills and experiences do you think would make a good superintendent for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools?
A passion for people is a must along with understanding point leadership. There are leadership qualities that are a prerequisite for this position, but it would be ideal to have someone who isn’t strictly focused on restructuring and likewise isn’t strictly focused on status quo. Change is inevitable if we want to move CMS to the status of choice district. Its also important for the next superintendent to hear and understand the members in 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?
Our administrators and our teachers are critical to the mission of our school district. It is imperative that we foster an environment where quality teachers and administrators want to be involved. In our recruitment and retention efforts we must ensure that we are competitive not only from a financial perspective but also from an environment and support position.
What solutions would you offer to improve student and employee safety on CMS school campuses?
I believe in modeling other successful safety initiatives from school districts around the country that resemble ours as well as partnering with our local businesses and sports teams who also have a track record of implementing safety measures.
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?
This is going to require a special emphasis and growth at scale. We cannot effectively tackle the problem as a whole but instead will need to look at root cause analysis and understand the mitigating factors at each school. The one-size fits all approach has led us here and so we need a new approach to solving this problem.
Why should voters choose you over your opponents?
I think it is time for a fresh perspective. I am committed to data driven analysis, creative solutions and corporate partnership. I have served extensively on every level of CMS schools and have experience working with parents and administrators alike. I am committed to improving student outcomes district-wide.
This story was originally published October 3, 2022 at 2:09 PM.
