About Norm Michaels
A lifetime of service, faith, and leadership
Norm Michaels offers unmatched experience as a retired Army Major who worked his way up the ranks from the very bottom as a private, through to Staff Sergeant, then as a commissioned officer through Lieutenant and Captain to retire as a Major after 20 years. He commanded Army units twice with as many as 384 soldiers. Upon returning from the Gulf War, where he was awarded the Bronze Star, he then served as a communications engineer with MIT Research & Engineering for another 20 years and managed budgets as large as $5.5 billion in defense projects. After 20 years in the Army and 20 years with MIT Research & Engineering, he now serves Teller County with deep community ties. Committed to parental rights, vocational training, and Merit Academy, Norm brings practical know-how to empower our children’s future, rejecting woke ideologies for academic excellence.
Norm's Personal Story
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My Story
I didn’t start with a silver spoon. Growing up, I was a bit of a problem child and dropped out of high school in the 11th grade. In 1971, I enlisted in the U.S. Army and I earned my GED in boot camp at the ‘urging’ of my drill sergeant. Years later, as a Staff Sergeant, I studied nights and weekends to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. After Officer Candidate School in 1981, I was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant.
I learned leadership and decision-making in the Army, first as a noncommissioned officer leading first 3-5, then 5-8 soldiers and later as a commissioned officer. As a lieutenant, I learned to lead a platoon of about 35-40 people. As a Captain, I twice commanded organizations, one of 220 soldiers, the other of 384. Commanding meant more than giving orders; it required mastering planning, budgeting, logistics, equipment maintenance, fleet management, counseling, and mentoring.
Later, I specialized in electrical and communications engineering. After returning from the Gulf War, where I was awarded the Bronze Star, I taught communications engineering to Army captains before retiring as a Major, with twenty years of service.
Following the Army, I spent another twenty years at MIT’s Research and Engineering Division as a senior engineer for 7 years, lead engineer for 3 years, and eventually retired as a principal engineer after another 7 years. My first promotion came as a direct result of my exemplary and innovative designs as well as financial and acquisition expertise as America sent our warriors into Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern nations following 9/11 in 2001. My second promotion came from the same types of innovative designs as well as financial and acquisition expertise as America sent its best to respond to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In the former, I worked with United States Central Command, overseeing the design and acquisition of $5.5 billion in communications capabilities supporting operations in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. In the latter, I worked with each of the affected States of Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, and Alabama as well as FEMA and other responding agencies. My designs brought all of these disparate organizations together in a comingled communications network. I was adept at simplifying complex technical challenges for both superiors and subordinates alike.
Today, I am a disabled veteran, a small business entrepreneur in Teller County, and a regular attendee of school board meetings, continuing my commitment to service and leadership in our community.
Why I'm Running
I believe God has called me to serve, not for political reasons, but with conviction, to protect and strengthen our schools. I’m here to raise the educational standard for our children and secure their strong roles as future leaders. For 14 years (2007-2021), woke school boards had the opportunity to improve academics, but they failed. By 2019, Woodland Park reached its lowest academic point on record, focused more on social agendas than on education.
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Since 2021, our conservative school board has lifted Woodland Park to #18 in the state as of 2024, the highest ranking in 15 years and just shy of “Accredited with Distinction.” This dramatic improvement, from #69 to #18, didn’t happen by accident. It resulted from rejecting failed policies and embracing proven approaches to education.
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Our Middle School received an over all score of 81.7%, garnering the Governor’s Distinguished Improvement Award. Colorado State Indicator Ratings identify Academic Growth at 88.6%, exceeding State objectives. Twenty-seven students with disabilities, in our Middle School, didn’t meet State requirements, they exceeded State requirements in English and Language Arts! All students in every socio, economic, and racial category once again “exceeded” State objectives in Math. Over all, Woodland Park Middle School didn’t just meet State Requirements, they exceeded them, as identified in the Colorado State Department of Education Performance Report for 2024.
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​Consider the September 3, 2025 article in the Pikes Peak Courier by editors Doug Fitzgerald and Eric Young. The article highlighted that our Woodland Park School District now ranks among the top 20% of school districts in the state, according to CMAS (Colorado Measures of Academic Success). The latest CMAS testing scores were released just last month, in August 2025. “WPSD came in 34th overall among the 169 ranked districts. Among 17 Pikes Peak-area districts, WPSD came in sixth.” “Merit Academy was our district’s top-ranked school.” [Click for Link to: WPSD well above median in state testing]
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I believe parents are the primary educators of their children. I support vocational training as a strong alternative to college, and I will champion the return of practical skills programs, like shop classes in car mechanics, plumbing, electrical work, HVAC repair, and computer repair, as well as futures in business management, nutrition, and financial management that prepare students for life.
Charter schools are not taking funds from the public school system; in fact, they often achieve more with fewer resources. One-third of our students in the RE-2 district attend Merit Academy, and I will continue to support them openly and actively.
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I also plan to advocate for vocational training, preparing our young men and women for real-world success—without forcing college debt.
With the City Council’s 1.09% sales tax cut affecting our budget, my experience in doing “more with less” will help ensure teachers thrive and school facilities remain strong.
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As I’ve said at board meetings,
“Train up a child according to His way; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
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That is my mission for Woodland Park’s future.
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Norm's Mission
To ensure every student in the Woodland Park district is prepared to be a strong citizen, successful in their chosen career path, and equipped for life, while empowering parental rights and maintaining the highest standards of academic excellence.
Excellence
Maintaining high academic standards and measurable outcomes
Opportunity
Creating pathways for all students to succeed
Integrity
Transparent leadership and fiscal responsibility