Occupation
—Executive Search and Leadership Consultant
Involvement with the school district (employment, kids in the system, volunteer, appointed or elected roles):
CMS School Board At Large Member 2006-2011. Parent of 3 CMS students 2007-2026.
Political experience:
CMS School Board At Large Member 2006-2011.
Education and/or political advocacy groups you’re affiliated with:
None.
Other relevant experience:
Education: Early career — Teacher, Coach, Theatre Director, administration. Board Member — The Epiphany School of Charlotte 2021-2022. Youth sports coach 1989-2018. Current clients include 2 public school districts in CA and MO.
Other relevant Leadership Experience: Set up the first-ever Talent function at a company we grew to $5B. Later led the International Division of the same company.
Political affiliation:
Unaffiliated.
What actions should the school board take to improve outcomes for students and schools that are performing below expectations?
We are never going to volunteer our way to success over the long term, but in the short term the Board should be issuing an urgent call to the community for an all-hands-on-deck approach. We need reading buddies and math tutors. An even better use of volunteer time and energy may be taking side duties off of the plates of teachers, so they have more time to devote to individual and small group extra help.
The Goals and Guidelines are a good start. But I am concerned that there are too many guidelines, and they mask the fact that the Board has too many priorities.
I am pleased that the Board has adopted a monitoring calendar to implement a framework for oversight of student learning outcomes. But I wonder where in the world that has been before now. It also remains to be seen whether the Office of Accountability can deliver data that is relevant and actionable - data needs to help us navigate where we are going, not just tell us where we have been.
When I was on the Board 2006–2011, we had a relentless focus on student learning outcomes. Our mantra was Raise the Bar and Close the Gap. It drove every meeting and every decision, and it was successful. I joined a broken Board in 2006, and 5 years later we won the national Broad Prize in Urban Education, based on “the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement while narrowing achievement gaps among low-income students and students of color.” The Board must have the discipline to focus on the main thing.
We will only get traction through outstanding executive leadership. A critical step will be hiring a great superintendent. Fortunately, as an executive search consultant, I bring expertise in helping organizations hire the best senior leaders. When I led the Talent function at a large company, I hired and managed outside executive search firms, so I bring that skill as well.
A great superintendent will attract talented senior leaders who will improve the overall quality of the leadership team. Then we need to get outstanding principals in every school.
What are the district’s most significant funding needs, and what should the board do to meet them?
State: More of the same type of advocacy is not going to get results. We must operate from a position of affirmation, rather than protest — from strength, rather than weakness.
1. Focus first on driving results with the funding we have now. Prove that we are competent and punching above our weight.
2. Tell our story in our own community to generate support from large employers, other elected bodies, and the community at large. Engage them as allies.
3. With a new, larger, and well-respected coalition, go to neighboring counties in the Charlotte MSA, Wake, Forsyth, Guilford, etc to get them on board — school boards, teachers, elected bodies, employers, community members....
4. Engage smaller counties the same way
5. With an unstoppable coalition that is aligned around a common goal, demand that state
legislators increase funding.
County: I understand the County Commission’s frustrations. We need to get some results, and more importantly, we need to have a clear strategy that we can present to the county in order to request full funding.
Other: With the resources that we have in Mecklenburg County, we need to consider creating a path to start a pseudo-endowment that will protect teacher compensation from the whims of politicians. The CMS Foundation is a potential vehicle. It has never reached its potential or had a mission that was big enough or consistent enough, but it DOES have some talented community members involved...
How would you rate current leadership of the district (board and superintendent)? What changes would you propose?
There has been no leadership from the Superintendent position in recent years. The previous 2 (permanent) Superintendents never led - they reacted - or were paralyzed.
He isn't a warm fuzzy guy, but Hugh Hattabaugh has taken some good steps to implement structure and get more of the right people to the right positions, though he has not been able to hire new talent as an interim. When I am seated on the Board, I hope that we will give the interim Superintendent license to begin clearing the decks, removing blockers, and setting the table for the new superintendent who will start in 2023.
The Board has too many priorities and too many individual agendas. Certain members have been more interested in winning arguments than they have been in governing. They have spent too much time re-litigating past issues, and not enough time being present with an eye towards the future. Some individual Board members need to understand that they don't have a vote as much as they have 1/9th of a vote. The leadership of the Board sometimes gives too much oxygen to members who were on the losing end of a vote but refuse to let an issue go. Once an issue has been decided, we need to move on. I believe that the election will help solve some of that problem. Then hiring a new Superintendent will help us get the traction that we need to keep moving forward.
What should the board do to improve safety for students and employees?
1. I support the physical steps that have already been taken. Magnetometers, wands, resource officers, etc…
2. All new construction and renovation should include safety considerations among the top 2-3 priorities — access to campus, access to and from buildings, reinforced glass, reinforced concrete block, doors that are easy to lock, classrooms constructed in a way that offers refuge/shelter, panic buttons, etc.
3. Establish cultures where students feel welcome and safe, not only physically, but also intellectually and emotionally. It starts with having strong, empathetic leadership at each school.
4. Overhaul current and (based on what I have heard from students at the middle and high school levels) ineffective anti-bullying education. Bullying is not the cause of school shootings, but most school shooters are ultra-local — and most felt ostracized, excluded or bullied at their schools.
5. The new superintendent needs to have:
- Proven success leading a complex organization with multiple sites, and many employees and customers
- Courage, decisiveness, ability to execute without having all of the information
- Vision to anticipate and a proactive approach
- Humility and openness to seek outside expertise.
Are there additional issues, themes or characteristics that you see as central in your campaign?
- My top priorities include the following:
- Raising the bar and closing gaps regarding student achievement
- Creating a culture of support for teachers
- Ensuring safe schools, physically, intellectually, and emotionally
- Restoring vision, direction, and accountability through strong board and executive leadership
- Rebuilding relationships based on trust with the county commission, CMS families, teachers,
We knit all of that together through Culture. CMS has a lot of stuff – a lot of programs, initiatives, and so forth. But none of it matters and none of it can take root without the framework of a healthy functioning culture. Culture starts at the top with the Board. We need to be mindful not only of WHAT we are doing and saying, but HOW we are doing and saying it. The first piece that I put out in my campaign was about expanding our answer to the question “Who is my neighbor?” We need to get the community on the same page regarding our commitment to ALL of our children...
We have an opportunity to unite our community around the worthiest of causes – making sure that our children have the knowledge base and skills to make informed choices and live with purpose as successful adults. With the resources that we have in Mecklenburg County, we are uniquely positioned to make CMS a talent development factory that does the right thing for all of our children, grows our economy, and makes our community an even more attractive place to live. The current board vision is a great place to start... “The vision of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is to lead the community in educational excellence, inspiring intellectual curiosity, creativity, and achievement so that all students reach their full potential.”
We start right now by giving principals and teachers room to run, and having their backs. Micromanagement never leads the way out of a crisis. Board and executive leadership need to make sure that our schools are safe and that our classrooms are inclusive incubators, where teachers and students have safe intellectual and emotional space to make connections and have discussions that will foster learning.
The Board needs to demonstrate that it can work together to hire an outstanding Superintendent and drive relentless focus on the main thing – raising the bar and closing the gap in student learning outcomes. Once we do that, and start to get some wins, we need to tell our own story from a point of affirmation rather than defensiveness. We need to be proactive rather than reactive. We need to play open cards and approach community and intergovernmental relationships from a framework of collaboration rather than confrontation.
... and then we will realize that we are laying the foundation to create a culture - because, again, we really don’t have one in CMS right now - we just have a lot of stuff...
The foundational ingredients for creating culture are:
- authenticity to assess situations honestly
- empathy to build relationships
- transparent communication
- humility to adapt and evolve
- intentional focus on the main thing - maximizing success for each student.
Indications of a healthy School Board culture include:
- Hiring a superintendent who will lead, not manage or react
- Asking questions rather than pontificating
- Listening to find opportunities for cooperation, rather than competition
- Accepting blame and giving away credit
- Staying present with an eye towards the future - not re-litigating the past
- Making decisions under imperfect conditions, in ways that can be adapted and scaled, so we keep moving forward.