B.J Watts is also one of 11 State Board of Education (SBOE) members — and one of nine appointed by the governor.
Watts is the executive director of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation (EVSC) opt-IN, the program to educate students on their options after high school.
He said it’s the SBOE’s job to set education policy across the state — such as the redesign of the high school diploma, and the new teacher accountability model.
“We work through creating those policies and voting to put those into place,” Watts said. “Obviously, the DOE handles all of the implementation, but we set the policies — policies that come from the statutes that are approved by the legislator.”
First appointed by Gov. Mitch Daniels in 2011, Watts said he’s the longest running board member. "It's humbling when you get when you have the confidence of Governor Braun," he said.
“I've been appointed by four different governors, so it's very humbling, like, I'll be honest, I really enjoy the work,” he said. “So I do love working with those other members that are truly just trying to do what's right by kiddos. And that's everyone's goal.”
Watts said early literacy is a big priority for him.
“We've seen how important that is to extended success for students,” he said. “So that would be number one — and then creating those pathways for students to gain the experience we talked about earlier. Like to get out into the field and test drive it and see, ‘hey, I really enjoy doing this, or I don't like doing it.’”
Since his first appointment in 2011, he’s seen some things change at the SBOE. For example today, the board allows itself to quickly adjust policy, when something’s not working.
He gave the Accountability Dashboard as an example.
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