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Michael A. Satterwhite
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Michael A. Satterwhite is an at-large representative on the Lynn Public Schools school board in Massachusetts. Satterwhite won a first term in the at-large general election on November 7, 2017.
Satterwhite participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Biography
Satterwhite attended Lynn Public Schools from kindergarten to 10th grade, and he graduated from McArthur High School in Hollywood, Florida. He earned an associate degree in paralegal students from Northern Essex Community College and North Shore Community College, a bachelor's degree in legal studies from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and a J.D. from the Massachusetts School of Law. His work experience includes serving as an attorney and owner of Satterwhite Law Firm, P.C. and as a director of operations and managing attorney for Cohen & Associates, P.C. Satterwhite has served as chair of the Lynn Community Connections Coalition Steering Committee, chair of the Committee for the Lupus Foundation of America/ Boston Walk to End Lupus Now, secretary of the Board for Good Hope, Inc., and volunteer conciliator for the Lynn District Court/Essex Bar Association.[1]
Elections
2017
- See also: Lynn Public Schools elections (2017)
Six seats on the Lynn Public Schools School Committee were up for general election on November 7, 2017. All seven seats on the school committee were up for election. The seventh seat on the school committee was automatically held by the mayor of Lynn, who was also up for election. Ballotpedia did not cover the mayoral race as it fell outside of municipal elections coverage.[2] Incumbents Donna M. Coppola, John E. Ford Jr., Lorraine Gately, and Jared Nicholson and newcomers Michael A. Satterwhite and Brian Castellanos won the election, defeating challengers Cherish Casey, Elizabeth Rosario Gervacio, Natasha Megie-Maddrey, and Jessica Murphy. All 10 candidates advanced from the primary election on September 12, 2017.[3][4][5]
The school committee election was nonpartisan, but candidate filings included the party enrollment of each candidate. Every candidate except Jessica Murphy identified as a Democrat. Murphy was not enrolled with a political party.[3]
Results
| Lynn Public Schools, At-large General Election, 2-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Donna M. Coppola Incumbent |
15.22% | 6,630 |
| John E. Ford Jr. Incumbent |
14.84% | 6,465 |
| Lorraine Gately Incumbent |
12.79% | 5,573 |
| Jared Nicholson Incumbent |
10.83% | 4,719 |
| Michael A. Satterwhite |
10.20% | 4,443 |
| Brian Castellanos |
10.02% | 4,367 |
| Elizabeth Rosario Gervacio | 8.11% | 3,532 |
| Natasha Megie-Maddrey | 6.58% | 2,868 |
| Jessica Murphy | 5.93% | 2,583 |
| Cherish Casey | 5.17% | 2,254 |
| Write-in votes | 0.32% | 138 |
| Total Votes | 43,572 | |
| Source: City of Lynn, "Election Summary Report Municipal Election Lynn, MA," accessed December 4, 2017 | ||
| Lynn Public Schools, At-large Primary Election, 2-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Donna M. Coppola Incumbent |
18.05% | 3,102 |
| Lorraine Gately Incumbent |
15.39% | 2,645 |
| John E. Ford Jr. Incumbent |
13.86% | 2,382 |
| Brian Castellanos |
10.64% | 1,828 |
| Jared Nicholson Incumbent |
10.39% | 1,786 |
| Michael A. Satterwhite |
8.68% | 1,492 |
| Jessica Murphy |
6.59% | 1,132 |
| Elizabeth Rosario Gervacio |
6.42% | 1,103 |
| Natasha Megie-Maddrey |
5.57% | 957 |
| Cherish Casey |
4.01% | 689 |
| Write-in votes | 0.4% | 68 |
| Total Votes | 17,184 | |
| Source: City of Lynn, "Election Summary Report: Preliminary Election," accessed September 12, 2017 | ||
Funding
Satterwhite reported $7,707.26 in contributions and $6,752.16 in expenditures to the Lynn City Elections and Voting Department, which left his campaign with $955.10 on hand in the election.[6]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Michael Anthony Satterwhite participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[7] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on July 7, 2017:
| “ | Lynn Public Schools have many needs. We need to focus on fully funding our public school system, while not cutting back on vital resources our students and teachers need. One initiative related to Lynn Public Schools would be creating a sub-committee dedicated to working with community businesses, PTA/PTOs and student government entities in our high schools. Community businesses like LEO and other head start and daycares have important information to share with the schools and we should give them a voice.
In addition we need to achieve success in these areas: 1. We need to improve on the transitional assistance our students receive when transitioning from Elementary School to Middle School, Middle School to High School and finally High School to College or a Career or simply from one school to another. 2. I would like our ELL and ESL students to start in a place that is outside of the general public in order for them to transition into the general public with confidence and the tools they need to succeed. 3. If we focus on transitioning our students to different environments, participation will improve and drop out rates will decline. 4. Improving relationships with families in the Elementary School years, in order to build a strong foundation of trust for years to come and for parents to be able to hold the school and their children accountable. 5. Continuously training and providing the proper tools all teachers need. 6. Addressing the drug use and violence in the City and in the public schools, by educating our students on the impact drugs and violence have on our health. We need to be ale to hear the concerns from the community we serve. I will provide the leadership if elected to the Lynn School Committee.[8][9] |
” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Massachusetts. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| “ | Our students must come first and we can only do this if our focus is on them and not on the school's budget. Once we balance and maintain the district's budget we can focus on the students and teachers.[9] | ” |
| —Michael Anthony Satterwhite (July 7, 2017) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| No. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should always defer to school board decisions. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Offer additional training options. Offer additional training options. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. Tea |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| In extremely limited circumstances. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers |
Candidate website
Satterwhite highlighted the following issues on his campaign website:
| “ | I plan on bringing my actual experience with the City's schools and my community involvement to the Lynn School Committee. We desperately need to improve our Schools in order to improve our City. I last attended Lynn English in 2001.
Our children are our foundation. Many of us view our children's lives as a measure of our success. I have one simple reason for running for Lynn School Committee: I want my children to have the best possible education, period. I want every child in the City of Lynn to have the same education, period. I understand the importance of family, education and giving back to my community. As a School Committee member I would focus on these areas:
OPEN CONCEPT: We need to create a sub-committee dedicated to working with community businesses, PTA/PTOs and student government entities in our high schools. We need to listen to the concerns from the community we serve. TEAM CONCEPT: 'Great companies are built on a team concept and I can’t think of a better teammate than you.' I am a firm believer that any successful venture starts with a team. We all bring different views and experience to the table. My motto has been proven time and time again and the quote above was used to describe me. Our schools need to be priority to families, businesses and our government. We need to work together and bring in new ideas and plans to improve the education offered at our schools. OVERCOMING: 'Michael has improved the product here at Cohen & Associates and he will be remembered for that' I am firm believer that we must overcome our past challenges in order to leave something better behind. Every employer I have had, witnessed my hard work and dedication with improving the organization and making it a better place for our employees. It is important to learn from our mistakes in the past, not continue to live in them. We should not be slow to change out of fear from our past failures, otherwise we will leave certain students in limbo and we should never fail our students. DELIVERING: 'It is tough to envision our goals materializing without you being an integral part of the plan.' It is easy to make a plan, it is much harder putting that plan into action. I have been put into many situations where failure was not an option. I feel as though the City of Lynn is in that same position with Lynn Public Schools. We must not fail and we must deliver for my children and for all other students.[9] |
” |
| —Michael A. Satterwhite (2017)[10] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Michael A. Satterwhite Lynn Public Schools school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Michael A. Satterwhite for Lynn School Committee, "About Me," accessed September 6, 2017
- ↑ City of Lynn Elections Office, "City of Lynn Political Calendar For 2017," accessed June 28, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Mary Jules," City of Lynn Election Coordinator, June 28, 2017
- ↑ City of Lynn, "Election Summary Report: Preliminary Election," accessed September 12, 2017
- ↑ City of Lynn, "Election Summary Report Municipal Election Lynn, MA," accessed November 7, 2017
- ↑ Lynn City Elections and Voting, "2017 Campaign Finance Reports," accessed January 25, 2018
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Michael Anthony Satterwhite's responses," July 7, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Michael A. Satterwhite for Lynn School Committee, "Issues," accessed September 6, 2017
