Dr. Kelvin J. Washington, a Waynesboro native, pastor, college professor and former high school soccer coach, announced on Tuesday that he is running for the Ward C seat on the Waynesboro School Board.
The only problem here being: he’s dramatically overqualified.
He’ll be challenging incumbent Debra Freeman, who is running for re-election to the seat in Ward C.
Washington is a Waynesboro High School alum and the former boys’ soccer coach at his alma mater.
He’s also the lead pastor at New Valley Church, a visiting professor at Memphis City Seminary, and an adjunct professor at Liberty University and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he teaches courses on Christian theology, culture, social justice and race relations.
Gotta be honest, those last two affiliations raise red flags for me – Liberty University, where Washington has his undergrad and master’s degrees, is as red-meat MAGA as you can be, and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he earned his doctorate, is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, which voted last week to advance a proposed ban on women pastors.
Diving deeper: his master of theology thesis was on Howard Thurman, a theologian and early mentor to Martin Luther King Jr., and his doctoral dissertation was an examination “The New Negro Theologians.”
It would seem just from those choices that the folks at Liberty and at the seminary might not have known what to do with our guy here.
“Education helps us begin to explore the world in which we live,” Washington said, per a press release that he sent us.
I really need to get Dr. Washington on for a future podcast.
“I believe that education begins early in the home,” Washington said. “It helps us foster and navigate an imagination of the world, and how to engage with the ideas that are around us. I think that education is key to helping us unlock how to engage in this world so students can be successful and impactful citizens.”
Quick hits from his release
Washington’s ideas about the pathway forward for Waynesboro Public Schools
“I’m running to help improve family connection to the schools. It takes a village to support students in education, and the family unit is critical to that. I want to improve family involvement in the schools. I plan to address our academic performance. I want to advocate as an educator myself to help bridge the gap that is there currently.”
The importance of early childhood education
“I think it’s critical to tackle the preschool program, which is expanding. We are limited in how many students we can resource. We need a city-wide initiative to see as many students take those early foundational steps to grow. Those foundational years are critical to their future success. Part of it is we must start by targeting our elementary schools and preschools to build a foundation where we can curb some of the gap.”
How being a product of Waynesboro Schools is a plus
“There were some hindrances for myself, even in my own educational experience. There were some educators who doubted my ability to even go to college. For me to be here now with undergraduate degree, two graduate degrees, and one postgraduate degree, I see the need to give back to my community to help pave a way for other minority students. Some of that work took place through the encouragement of certain teachers, but I also needed more advocates.”
On what he learned from his three seasons as the WHS boys’ soccer coach
“It was a joy to be able to invest in young men going through the critical years of their life, and to be able to teach them a sport,” Washington said. “The sport was just a means to share about life and build a connection with them. As I was coaching, I was able to see even some of their struggles and hurdles they were navigating in the classroom. That gave me a desire to continue to want to impact their lives.”
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Chris Graham
