“If you find a job or jobs you love, you’ll never have to work another day in your life.” This is the favorite quote of Philip Watters. A local teacher that hasn’t worked a day since 1990.
Teaching was always in the cards for Randall Elementary’s most senior fifth grade teacher, Philip Watters. From an early age, he recognized that he had a special quality to connect with youth. He recalls always having someone to greet him on his front porch when he came home as a child. The children gathered to be mentored and trained by Watters. This innate quality and the influence of his mother, Barbara Josephine Watters, who was a sixth-grade teacher, would lead him to pursue what he calls, “the most rewarding career you can ever choose”.
Originally from the Watts Neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA, Watters made his way to Madison via a football scholarship to the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1985. Upon graduating with his Bachelor of Arts in Education, he intended to move to Milwaukee to begin his first job. Before he could pack up, he saw an opening at Randall Elementary. He applied, interviewed, and would be hired as a fourth-grade teacher in 1990. After his first successful year of teaching, nearly all of his students chose to stick with him for another year for fifth grade. Now, 36 years later, he still teaches, imparting decades of wisdom on each new class of fifth-grade students.
In the classroom, Watters holds high yet attainable standards for every student. The standards he imposes are similar to those that were put on him as a child by his favorite teachers, Ms. Campbell from third grade and Mr. Walker from fourth grade. His standards combined with a tough-love teaching style make his approach a perfect fit for fifth grade students gearing up to transition out of the elementary environment. He talks to them like the young adults they are maturing into before his eyes.
Watters takes his charge as an educator seriously. Having grown up at Randall Elementary himself as a professional, he has come to recognize that many students lack confidence and don’t believe teachers are truly on their side. To curb this, he ensures he walks at a pace that matches the needs of his students and is never afraid to “keep it real” with them. He has found a home at Randall and wants to share that feeling with students, so they feel safe, excited, and focused on growing their own love for learning.
While his students keep him gratified, Watters has been recognized by the larger community for his impactful work. He was recognized in 2005 by the Madison Metropolitan School District as the “Distinguished Teacher of the Year” and in 2024 at Urban Triage’s Black Brilliance Gala with the “Legacy Award”. However, what keeps him teaching is his genuine love for the job.
To anyone out there reading, thinking teaching might be the career for them, Watters wants you to know that you have the power to change lives and even inspire others to become teachers. To students who may be struggling to finish out the year, he encourages determination, “fall a thousand times, get up a thousand times”.
Outside of teaching, Watters enjoys his family, friends, exercising, and traveling. He holds on to his California roots by also pop-locking and rapping as hobbies. All these activities feed Watter’s love for his community and teaching; none more than his lifelong love for football.
Currently, Watters is on his fourth-year coaching for Oregon High School, but he has spent years with several teams in the area. He started his coaching career at Penn Park with Madison’s Southside Raiders. With over 28 years of coaching experience from elementary to semi-professional athletes, Watters has witnessed hundreds of players matriculate through the ranks, with some developing into successful college athletes. He has even established a fifth-grade football program at Randall.
Known to many as Coach and Mr. Watters, he doesn’t plan to leave the field or classroom just yet. Before hanging up his hat, he aspires to become an elementary school principal and head football coach at a high school in the area.
“I can’t rest at night knowing I didn’t give this child my very best”. And that is exactly what each student and athlete under Watters care receives. It’s because of this authentic care he has for his students that they are willing to work harder. He knows authenticity is key to his success as both a coach and an educator.
