6768: Making a difference is what it's all about (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: nozier <nozier@tradewind.net>

 Published Sunday, January 21, 2001, in the Miami Herald
 REGION IV: RUTHIE M. WILLIAMS
 Making a difference is what it's all about.

 That's the driving force behind Ruthie M. Williams, principal at
Toussaint L'Overture Elementary in Little Haiti. The Region IV nominee
for Principal of the Year believes that ``excellence in education'' is
created by a partnership between parents, school, and the
 community. ``I have dedicated committed teachers, and I have a
community that cares about their children,'' Williams said.
 The results include an increase in students' FCAT scores, a Parent
Resource
 Center, and 10 teachers receiving master's degrees. Family and
community involvement is one reason the school is successful. Toussaint
L'Overture, 120 NE 59th St., has 780 students and also has been
recognized nationally for its chess team, which has won three
consecutive State and National Championship Titles.
 A graduate of Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Williams didn't begin as
a full-time
 teacher. ``I have really gone from the very beginning,'' said Williams,
who started her career in teaching as a substitute teacher in 1965. A
year later she got started at Little
 River Elementary, where she taught for six years.
 In 1972 Williams was assigned to the region as a teacher on special
assignment.
 In 1983 she went to Orchard Villa Elementary as a reading facilitator.
Since then,
 she has been assistant principal at three other schools. She came to
Toussaint
 L'Ouverture five years ago. ``It has been a most wonderful and most
rewarding experience,'' Williams said. Williams is not shy about her
goal.
 ``I want to be remembered as someone who cares a lot about children.''