Submitted by Mike Canada
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I humbly announce my candidacy for the Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) Board.
Coronado has been my family’s home for nearly 25 years; there is absolutely nowhere else we would rather call home. As a US Navy veteran, university professor, and a proud parent of a Coronado High School Class of 2020 graduate, as well as a parent of two current CUSD students, I am committed to keeping our school system focused on education, its financial stability and holding the district accountable to the students, parents and citizens of Coronado.
I believe I am uniquely qualified to serve as a CUSD Trustee. I have five years’ postsecondary educational experience as an Assistant Professor of Aviation, Program Director, Budget Committee Member and Academic Research Advisor at Lewis University in Chicago. Before my professorship, I served for 10 years in the U.S. Navy as a NATOPS Instructor and Master Training Specialist, five years as a Flight Simulator Tactics Instructor for Lockheed Martin and three years as a Curriculum Consultant to Sea Control Wing Pacific assisting in the development of curriculum and teaching methods for Naval Aviators, Flight Officers and Aircrewman. I have also worked as a Training Specialist and Program Manager at L3 Communications, as well as a UAV Pilot and Mission Commander Instructor for Boeing IDS. In addition to my educational experience, I have in-depth knowledge of legal issues, finance, budgetary requirements, contracts, audits and taxation law working for The London Court of International Arbitration, Hewlett Packard, Ernst & Young and LexisNexis. I hold a B.S. in Education from Southern Illinois University, an LL.B. (Honors) in Law from Durham University Law School (UK), an LL.M. in Comparative Law (Merit Scholar) from the University Of San Diego School Of Law and a graduate certificate in “Airborne Global Information Grid Operations” from The Johns Hopkins University.
So, what do I bring to the table? My professional teaching experience gives me a unique perspective into what our students need to be successful in whatever they endeavor after graduating. Whether our students move on to university, vocational school or choose to become entrepreneurs, it is the board’s bounden duty to ensure it creates an atmosphere of inclusion, tolerance and success for every student in the district. More than ever, we need our students to become independent thinkers, so they can develop into competent, knowledgeable, respectful, patriotic, confident and capable citizens and leaders. I will listen with an open mind, offer up logical and innovative solutions and take decisive actions that benefit Coronado’s students, parents and stakeholders, not special interest groups that want to push their narrow agenda to indoctrinate rather than educate.
Kenneth “Mike” Canada
