Editor’s note: The following Q&A is part of Xpress‘ annual Sustainability series.
The Rev. Charles Martin was elected to the Buncombe County Board of Education, representing the at-large district in November. He also serves as senior pastor of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church.
Xpress: How should Buncombe’s two school districts better collaborate?
Martin: Our collaboration between the two school systems should focus on these key areas to enhance the educational experience and maximize resources:
- Staff development: Joint training to share best practices, technology and instructional strategies.
- Shared curriculum: Develop a centralized database of lesson plans, activities and materials for teachers.
- Curriculum alignment: Align curriculums across both systems, including dual enrollment programs for advanced courses.
- Community engagement: Hold joint parent and community meetings to share important information.
- Data collaboration: Use data to identify student performance trends, advocate for funding and support policy changes.
- Support services: Provide joint services in special education, career counseling, events and integrated technology systems.
What’s your vision for the future of publicly funded education?
I believe schools should receive all the funding they need for quality education. If I had my way, I would create a two-part funding formula:
- Weighted by position: Tailor funding based on the unique needs of each school and community.
- Weighted by student: Ensure funding is distributed fairly to support all students effectively.
In the face of so many challenges to our public schools, how do you cope and stay positive?
In life, we face ups and downs from the choices we make or those made by others. Sometimes they’re the right choices, sometimes not; but staying negative won’t help us achieve our goals. I like using the “ripple effect” analogy — when you throw a rock in water, it creates expanding ripples. To stop the negative “ripples,” we need to approach it with leadership. We must normalize conflict, keep things simple and lead by example with behaviors like trustworthiness, transparency, respect and creating a safe space for others to share their opinions. If we all do this, the negative ripple effect will stop.
