BY MARK KLAAS

Editor

Calvin Watts has a dream, too.

The second-year Kent School District superintendent wants every student to succeed, regardless of race and other differences, and urges them to make an impact in society long after they graduate from school.

Watts emphatically shares that message with the community, much in the spirit of one of his childhood influences, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“We think about MLK’s dreams,” Watts told a gathering on Aug. 27 at Burlington Green Park, an event that commemorated the 53rd anniversary of The March on Washington, D.C., when King gave his historic “I have a dream” speech. “We have a plan … and our goal is to turn our blueprint, our vision into reality.”

Watts was one of several guest speakers at the tribute, Our Place in the March, presented by the Kent Black Action Commission, a small grassroots group that is working to shape, support and advance conditions of the African-American community.

Watts took the opportunity to explain the school district’s bold strategic learning plan – Blueprint: Leaning Forward Together, 2016-21, which spells out specific values and goals to identify and improve learning in Kent’s schools.

Essentially, as Watts explained, the Blueprint has designs for the school district to “produce graduates who will be globally competitive learners. Through equitable access to academic, social and applied learning, students will be ready to excel in college, careers and in life.”

It’s a challenging shared vision for students, both rigorous and equitable, Watts said.

“The Blueprint sets forth a shared vision that is purposeful and directed toward setting higher standards for our students and ourselves, always driven by values of equity and excellence,” Watts said. “Just as important as setting the direction, the Blueprint holds all of us accountable to measurable goals that will drive student success now and in the future.”

The challenge is to improve schools by changing beliefs, Watts said.

King left an edible mark as a leader on Watts, who grew up in the Northwest but went to Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he earned his English degree. He received his teaching certification at Western Washington University, a master’s degree in educational administration and supervision from the University of West Georgia, and doctorate in educational leadership from Argosy University in Atlanta.

Watts worked as an assistant superintendent in Gwinnett (Ga.) County Public Schools, the 13th largest school district in the country, before taking the job in Kent.

Like King, Watts has a plan and a vision. He has the time to reach it. He asks for everyone to pull together and achieve it.

“(As superintendent) it’s difficult for me to separate this mission, my purpose of this role from my own personal life,” he said.