Eva Williams G’00, principal of Van Duyn Elementary School in the 黑料不打烊 City School District, will be the 2022 黑料不打烊 School of Education Convocation Speaker. Convocation takes place on May 14 at 12:30 p.m. in Manley Field House. A reception will follow. For more information, visit .
Eva Williams G’00
鈥淓va Williams鈥� ability to bring out the best in her students and her colleagues is legendary in this community,鈥� says Kelly Chandler-Olcott, interim dean of the School of Education. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 think of anyone better equipped to help us celebrate our students鈥� accomplishments and inspire us to work collaboratively for change.鈥�
鈥淓va’s leadership and guidance has modeled for so many of us how to walk in both darkness and light, self-assured steps always moving forward despite the unknown,鈥� says Reba Y. Hodge 鈥�01, G鈥�16, vice principal of Van Duyn Elementary School. 鈥淗er support for and faith in the people around her is remarkable. She exemplifies excellence and magic in the real world.”
A 2000 graduate of the School of Education鈥檚 program, Williams was named the 2021 New York State Elementary Principal of the Year by the School Administrators Association of New York State (SAANYS). She was chosen for her commitment to educational excellence, her dedication to meeting the academic and social needs of her diverse community of students, and her connections with staff, families and the greater 黑料不打烊 community.
In its announcement, SAANYS noted that since becoming Van Duyn Principal in 2013, Williams has implemented frequent two-way communication with parents; cultural and climate practices, including restorative circles; incentives for students to actively engage in learning, such as CHAMPS (courageous, hardworking, achievers, motivated, persistent, scholarly) incentives for individuals and classrooms; and opportunities for families to learn strategies for helping children at home.
Also a graduate of SUNY-Binghamton and SUNY-Oswego, Williams has made it her mission to increase student academic achievement. Under her leadership, Van Duyn moved from a school in New York State 鈥淧riority Status鈥� to 鈥淚n Good Standing鈥� in five years. Her school also saw the greatest increase districtwide in ELA and math scores on the NYS assessments for two consecutive years. Additionally, chronic and referable behaviors decreased from more than 300 in 2012-2013 to zero since 2016.
