An executive boost to the CMS workforce
Business leaders are stepping up to lend their expertise to help local schools
The following article appeared in the Jan. 5, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
As CMS works to stabilize after a rocky stretch, the district is ramping up its partnerships with local executives and businesses; budget-crafters, leadership training, ‘data wizard’
Some 15 local business leaders have served or currently serve as CMS Executives in Residence, and they gather weekly at Community Matters Cafe to share insights and ideas. They include (l-r) Scott Pion of Atrium Health, LaShauna Lowry of Ally, Raki McGregor of Novant Health and Matt Agner of Rodgers Builders. (Photo courtesy of the Charlotte Executive Leadership Council)
by Cristina Bolling
At first glance, it wouldn’t seem like Matt Agner’s job as an operations process manager for Rodgers Builders would have anything in common with what goes on within a school district charged with educating nearly 140,000 kids from pre-K through 12th grade.
But about one day a week, Agner dons a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools badge and reports to the district’s central office off Woodlawn Road, tasked with helping figure out how technology and data analytics can help make schools run smoother.
He’s been part of CMS’s Executives in Residence partnership with the Charlotte Executive Leadership Council, or CELC, since last February, and during the past 11 months has become known as the “data wizard” within the district, ping-ponging between departments and doing things like setting up online dashboards to help track enrollment in certain program areas so staff can respond more smoothly to shifts.
Agner is part of a relatively new — and growing — partnership between the district and the CELC, which is a group of civic-minded local business leaders and CEOs who provide resources ranging from loaning staff to offering up meeting space at little to no cost to local nonprofits or government agencies.
So far, 15 local executives like Agner have worked or are working full- or part-time for CMS as part of the program. More than two dozen companies are involved in the partnership, helping CMS out in a multitude of ways.
The partnership is a bright spot for the district as it works to recover from the effects of Covid and a leadership crisis that followed the firing of former superintendent Earnest Winston in 2022. The pour-in of help from local industry could also be seen as a sign of community support for the work the district is doing.
A response to crisis: The CMS-CELC partnership started in 2022 as CMS was reeling from the effects of Covid learning loss. It has grown from a handful of loaned executives identifying areas where they could help to a larger movement that’s bringing in resources from a broader list of organizations.