District Superintendent Fred Williams has worked in Dublin, Georgia’s school system for 27 years. He started as a P.E. teacher and now is the city’s first African American superintendent.
He was inspired by African American teachers' leadership during his time in grade school, reports 13WMAZ.
“I had two African American P.E. instructors, one was an older gentleman named Mr. Louie Striggles, and so sitting there getting ready for class to start up, and I looked at Mr. Striggles and said, 'One day I'm going to be like Mr. Striggles,' " he told the TV station.
Williams studied at Clark Atlanta University on a football scholarship. Afterward, he moved to Dublin, teaching physical education and health classes and coaching the football team. He later earned higher degrees in education from Troy University and Nova Southeastern University.
Credit: Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Credit: Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
He followed after Striggles’ example and impacted the lives of his students from the start of his career in education.
“I used to go to the grade-level meetings to find out what were the teachers trying to get, skills they were trying to get over the kids, because I knew they would listen to Coach before they would listen to some of the teachers,” he told the TV station.
His efforts earned him Teacher of the Year in his first year teaching.
He then became assistant principal, principal and superintendent. He claims the career advancement has helped him become accessible to even more students and garner the community’s trust.
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He has already made an impact through winning $10,000 in 2019 for making Dublin City Schools the Charter System of the Year in Georgia, competing against eight other districts including the city of Atlanta.
"It lets our community know that we're producing students who are college and career ready. We have a 96.1% grad rate at Dublin High School, which we're excited about, and through our flexibility in our charter system we're able to reach those types of gains and achievement," Williams said.
Williams allocated a fraction of the funds to each school that they could use for individualized projects, according to local news reports. He also celebrated by buying students ice cream.
Besides serving Dublin's educational community, Williams serves as a teaching pastor at Turkey Creek Missionary Baptist Church.
"I have to really make sure that I am above reproach. That I hold the sacred trust, that people can really judge me by the content of my character. I consider myself as an example. I don't want kids to just stop where I am and have the same dimensions in life that I have. I want them to be greater." — Superintendent Fred Williams
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