Michael Washington, a former music teacher at Northwest School of the Arts, dies Sunday evening after a long illness.

Washington, 57, began his career with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and also worked at Cochrane Middle School. He was named CMS teacher of the year for 1978-79.

Washington eventually left CMS to work for the Houston Symphony Orchestra but returned in 2000 to Northwest – the same building where he had attended junior high school.

Northwest Principal Barry Bowe said Washington once joked about having ridden his skateboard as a student in the same halls where at the time he taught.

“He was a very demanding, old-school kind of a guy, and the students knew what he expected,” Bowe recalled. “But he also made sure they knew he loved them very much and had high expectations for all the students.”

In 2007, Washington won districtwide recognition for establishing Dragon Records Inc. – a student-run entertainment company -- at Northwest. The first of its kind in the district, the learning lab allowed students to create their own music and learn about the recording business.

Money from a CD they recorded as a final project was used to buy more learning equipment.

Bowe said Washington left Northwest at the end of the last school year and was on extended sick leave.

The school on Monday had additional guidance counselors on site to help students cope with grief.

Washington graduated from Johnson C. Smith University and earned a master’s degree from UNC Greensboro. His parents live in Charlotte.
 

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