New York, NY – Today, New Classrooms, a nonprofit on a mission to personalize education by redesigning how a classroom works, announced a new senior staff member: Michael Watson, vice president of policy and advocacy.
“We are thrilled to welcome Michael to the New Classrooms team,” said New Classrooms CEO Joel Rose. “His experience with schools and national education organizations will help us expand New Classrooms’ impact to more students throughout the country.”
Prior to joining New Classrooms, Watson was the chief academic officer and associate secretary of education for the State of Delaware. He had direct responsibility for Delaware’s College and Career Readiness agenda and under his leadership, Delaware witnessed its highest ever graduation rates. For the last four years, he ensured that every college-ready senior applied to and enrolled in college. Watson has also led school and district improvement as a district leader, principal, assistant principal, state mentor teacher and a teacher in school districts in Connecticut, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
In his role as the vice president of policy and advocacy, Watson will work with the education policy community to support the growing movement around new, innovative learning models that enable personalized instruction.
“I am excited to join New Classrooms to continue the work I started in Delaware to help more students reach their academic goals and graduate high school ready for college and careers,” said Watson. “Removing barriers and creating more opportunities for personalized learning models to flourish will benefit all students.”