Full of vim and vigor, Ryan Williams excited students about learning at Mary Lee Cravens Elementary in Owensboro, Kentucky, by connecting lessons to their interests. Much to their delight, he even dressed up as different motivational speakers, adding yet another stratum of interest to this ever-engaged classroom.
Mary Lee Cravens Elementary was a high-need Title I school. Williams' approach to increasing student achievement was to create a classroom driven by student data and higher-level thinking skills promoted by the Common Core State Standards. His learning stations were based on Common Core content and customized for students' instructional levels. Consider these innovative assignments aligned to Common Core principles: a March Madness newscast that students presented to parents, an iPad Academy, and incorporating sports into his lessons such as facilitating "tag team" reading with the local World Wrestling Federation wrestling program and had his students research a team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Williams also went the extra mile to inspire parental participation, creating video newsletters for parents and even convening parent nights throughout the year, working around moms' and dads' schedules to ensure their involvement.
National Board Certified, Williams was the math curriculum coordinator and co-chairs the Positive Action Committee. Dedicated to the education profession, he requested student teachers for his room and presented an array of pedagogical-related topics at the district level. Furthermore, he shared his expertise via lectures at local universities and sat in on the district's future leaders' group. Williams retired in 2026.
National Board Certified Teacher ED.S
