We know that something is working at Head because students and teachers tell us it is. On the twice-annual student survey, Head students respond that their teachers hold them to high expectations and believe in them, and that they feel heard and included in their education and student experience. Teachers feel that school leadership is trustworthy, is positive, and helps them grow as educators. As important, Head’s academic data is impressive compared to other middle schools. Not only are students across the board performing at a rate in the top 25% of MNPS middle schools, but all students – in every ethnicity and sub-group measured for academic data – are performing in this top quartile when compared to their peers – one of only four out of roughly 50 middle schools in MNPS that has this level of equitable outcomes for all subgroups.

Dr. Williams’ expectations for her teachers are high, yet she provides a great deal of flexibility on how teachers go about reaching those expectations. She trusts that if a teacher is making a decision to teach in a certain way – even if it means each classroom might look a lot different – it is for the benefit of students. Since she and her leadership team are constantly checking in on teachers in their classrooms, she knows when expectations are and are not being met. Expectations and goals are clearly defined – 91% of Head’s teachers feel this way, compared to 65% of MNPS middle school teachers on average – and leadership demonstrates follow-through – 86% of Head’s teachers feel school leaders are knowledgeable about what is going on in classrooms, compared to 54% of MNPS middle school teachers on average.

This allows her to afford plenty of autonomy to teachers to lead their classrooms and instruct using innovative methods that work for them. Dr. Williams requires her teachers to open each lesson with a warm welcome and end with an optimistic closure – whether it be a special greeting, a game or activity to build community among students and teachers, or a class-curated playlist to guide work time or classroom procedures. She describes a key aspect of the culture she wants teachers to create for students as “bringing them into your calm.” She models this for her staff daily, bringing teachers and staff into a calm that starts at the top with school leadership.

Dr. Williams understands that teachers need to have the flexibility to meet her expectations in a way that is authentic for them as well as their students. “SEL is not a one-size-fits-all approach,” she said. “What works for fifth grade teachers probably won’t work for eighth grade teachers.” The flexibility that teachers are given to meet this and other expectations for instruction or classroom management leads to greater buy-in from teachers and more effective implementation of strategies that make a real difference for kids. Teachers feel that they are being valued for the professional expertise and experience they bring to Head, and appreciate that the school’s leadership is so intentional about making them enjoy working at the school. Some 88% of teachers at Head report that teacher satisfaction is important to school leadership – 32% above the district average for middle schools. In order to allow her teachers to fully teach students through an SEL lens, she leads her school and team in the same way.

If a teacher is struggling with instruction, classroom management, or the effective integration of SEL, she points them to other teachers who are doing well in that area, or helps facilitate a Professional Learning Community to promote teacher collaboration and peer observation. Rather than give that teacher a directive herself, she leverages an impressive slate of educators as the greatest in-house professional learning resource she can offer her team. And data shows she is right to do so – 93% of teachers say that their colleagues’ ideas are helpful for improving their teaching, which is 23% higher than district average for middle schools. And 69% of teachers feel that they are able to provide input when school leadership is making important decisions, a whopping 30% above district average for middle schools.

As do all principals, Dr. Williams has to make key decisions with her school’s funding that affect the work experience of teachers. She could allocate dollars to supplies or infrastructure if she were to reduce the number of staff positions by consolidating teacher responsibilities. However, since this would increase the different number of classes one individual teacher would have to teach – i.e., teaching both science and social studies, and thus having to plan lessons for, prepare materials for, and keep track of two entirely separate courses – Williams chooses not to. She opts to allocate funds in a way that keeps teachers teaching only one course, when possible, and teaching a course that they want to teach. This decision allows Head teachers more time to plan thoughtful lessons and eliminate stress, and reinforces Dr. Williams’ message that teachers are the drivers of change in her building. As one teacher explained, Dr. Williams is “thoughtfully logistical,” saying “I’ve never worked with someone with so much thoughtfulness about how decisions will impact teachers.”

Every Sunday, Dr. Williams sends out a weekly “Heads Up” email to teachers that previews the week’s schedule, priorities, special events, and other pertinent information. The purpose of this consistent, clear communication is to eliminate confusion for teachers and reduce the number of things they need to keep track of, so that they can put their full attention and time on teaching high-quality, engaging lessons. By sending this weekly email, Williams creates a structure for her teachers to plan out the week, think about what they want to accomplish given other responsibilities, and focus on teaching.

This is felt and appreciated by teachers at Head. Some 97% of teachers at Head Middle feel that their school leadership effectively communicates important information to them – 40% higher than the average for middle schools in MNPS, according to fall 2019 Panorama survey data. “Nothing will catch me off guard,” a teacher shared. “I can focus completely on teaching because I don’t have to think about what is going on that day or coming up next.” And 89% of staff feel that they are well-informed of school policies and procedures, 31% above district average for middle schools.

By addressing teacher needs holistically and building systems that allow them to have autonomy over their classrooms, Dr. Williams is cultivating a work environment in which teachers want to teach: one that is driven by a focus on the social-emotional learning and care not just for students, but for adults as well. “I work hard to meet Dr. Williams’ expectations,” one teacher said, “because I know she is meeting mine.”

While Head is demonstrating above-average academic achievement, the school still has opportunity to grow students even more as they climb further to thriving. Currently, about 60% of students are achieving at the academic threshold that earns them automatic enrollment at Martin Luther King Jr. school – the seventh to 12th grade academic magnet that Head feeds into – after sixth grade, the first exit point for students going from Head to MLK. The second exit point, after eighth grade, currently sees fewer students achieving the academic achievement necessary to automatically enroll in MLK, only 40%. Dr. Williams’ goal is to make these numbers match – to bridge the gap between the “early” group of students qualifying for admission into MLK and those who finish out middle school at Head. The school culture that has been cultivated and nourished through the intentional integration of social, emotional, and academic expectations is a strong indicator that the school will grow toward this goal.

Dr. Williams is dedicated to making Head a place where teachers want to work and where students want to be. Strong academic expectations infused with SEL practices that don’t stand alone, but are what make learning possible, engaging, and long-lasting for both students and adults allow her to make this vision a reality. By creating a school culture that clears the path for SEL practices and expectations to be “a blessing and not a burden” for teachers, they will implement them more readily and effectively. And when this happens, students benefit immensely. “While school is a place for academics, it should also be a refuge for students,” Dr. Williams said. “I firmly believe that.”