By Jacob Fisher
Mr. Williams, the former head principal of Sheyenne High School, spent just one year as the head of the building. This year, he now takes a senior position in the West Fargo School District as the assistant superintendent.
Why did he take the job? According to him, it’s simple. He needed to make a bigger impact.
Vincent Williams has been in the educational field for 18 years. For the former Fargo North history teacher, he finds teaching to be his purpose.
“I consider education to be a calling in life.”
Vincent Williams
“I consider education to be a calling in life,” Williams stated. “When I graduated from Moorhead State University, I went into working as a paraprofessional in Ben Franklin Middle school in Fargo and I’ve been in education ever since.”
For Williams, teaching is a deeply personal endeavor. He believes much of his success in education today is due to the work of his own childhood educators where he was raised in Chicago.
“I didn’t see a future for myself,” he remarked. “I honestly believed I’d go down a path that was not good, so to have teachers and coaches take time and invest in me, that made me want to give back to others as that’s why I eventually went into the field of education. To give back.”
Now a leader in the West Fargo School District, the former Sheyenne High School principal does much of what he strived to do his whole career. He continues to improve the school district through working directly with principals, staff, and parents.
However, a quick lesson Williams learned is you can’t please everyone. The new assistant superintendent commonly finds himself trying to answer hard questions and find ideal solutions that aren’t the exact fit he hopes for.
Yet, he is committed to looking forward for not only himself but the school district. His key policy goal is the soon-to-be-implemented academy model, a format of curriculum where standards are directly based on students’ career interests.
From his time at Sheyenne, Williams still misses the mornings as principal. For him, it was nearly therapeutic.
“Being out in the hallways, greeting students; that was the best part of my day. There are days when you get up in the morning, and there’s a dark cloud hanging over you, but when I got to work, and sitting in the hallway, and kids smiling, and giving me high fives, that just made my day,” Williams recalled.
“I want [all students] to know about Sheyenne is [that] you have teachers who care dearly about you. Not just necessarily about your academic success; they care about you as a human being, and if there’s anything you need, you have people in this building who are there to help you and I will always advocate for you to reach out if you ever need help.”
“This is an amazing school, like a family, and I’m glad you have the chance to experience this at your high school.”
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