CHARLOTTE, N.C. — This school year marks Kenneth Gorham’s third year walking down the hallways of Movement Freedom Middle School in Charlotte.
“The biggest thing is that kids are in a space of learning,” he said as he walked past the college banners hanging up in the hallway. “Now I’m just so heavy on developing other leaders [and] other people because to me that’s the testament of a great leader,” Gorham said.
WCNC Charlotte first introduced you to the North Carolina A&T State University alum and Charlotte native back in 2022. At the time, Gorham had just taken over as the school’s principal. He became the youngest principal in its history.
“You don’t find many people that are blessed with this opportunity at this age. And so, when people bring it up a lot of times it’s in a positive way,” he shared smiling.
Recently, he was a part of another opportunity. Gorham was on season six of Netflix’s Love is Blind. That season was set in Charlotte. The show focuses on singles on a journey to find love without initially seeing each other.
“The thing that I will take away, and that I’m appreciative of from that experience, is that people are able to see and bring more awareness to the field of education,” Gorham mentioned.
He said his journey as an educator started in a courtroom.
“I wanted to go to law school because I went through a lot of custody battles and things like that as a young child and I was in and out of different homes,” Gorham recalled. “I had one judge in our case, and he actually said, 'These children have been through enough.'”
Years later, while he was in college, he said he remembered his mother’s advice.
“My mom always raised me; anything you want to make a good decision, you need to always pray,” Gorham said.
After pivoting to education, he would land with Teach for America before starting his career with Movement Freedom Middle School.
“I would describe Principal Gorham as a cheerleader," Lilah Cleaton said, "because when we do things good, he’s always there pushing us."
Cleaton is in the eighth grade at Movement Freedom Middle School. Her classmate Jayden Anderson agrees.
“I would describe him as a good man. He holds everybody accountable. Comes in and gives the teachers feedback,” Anderson shared.
Gorham said his daily message to his students is to believe in their dreams.
“You can do and achieve so many things," Gorham said. "It’s just about the mindset and the ability to have faith."
Gorham said the show has helped him build partnerships to help fellow educators and students.
Contact Nick Sturdivant at nsturdiva1@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.