Blair High School Principal Darryl Williams Q & A

On July 1, 2011, Darryl Williams will move on from his four year journey as  Principal to become the Community Superintendent for the Gaithersburg, Clarksburg, Watkins Mill, Magruder and Damascus school cluster.

Patch sat down with Principal Williams to reminisce about his time at Blair as well as his work in the community.

Patch: Can you share your fondest memory of your time at Blair?

Darryl Williams: My fondest moment at Blair was when the PTSA had a "meet with Principal" dinner at El Golfo and I met so many parents and students at the fundraiser dinner that night. As families came into the restaurant that night, they met me at the door and introduced ourselves and talked briefly about school before they ate dinner. While I ate dinner with my own family, parents and students greeted me at our table. The other moment was when students made a rap video of me as a way to introduce me to the student body. I still get comments about that video.

Patch: What would you consider your greatest triumph at Blair?

Williams: Our greatest triumphs were helping the school become accredited through Middle States Accreditation process; working with students, staff, and parents to achieve [Adequate Yearly Progress] AYP status and removing the status of School Improvement Year 2 from the Maryland State Department of Education; surviving budget cuts in our Math, Computer Science and Science and Communication Arts magnet programs and hiring new coordinators of these programs. [We also were successful at] increasing our graduation rates, maintaining excellent performance on SATs, ACTs, and AP exams, improving communication with the PTSA and SGA; and addressing some facility issues such as the installation of a new turf field, an outside water fountain, and exterior steps for quicker exits out of the building during emergencies.

Patch: What would you consider your greatest challenge(s) at Blair?

Williams: The greatest challenges have been the ability to personalize the school for over 2800 students with our Academy program and to lessen the number of ineligible students (students with a grade point average less than a 2.0).

Patch: Tell us a bit about your work in the community outside the Blair campus.

Williams: My work outside of the Blair community involved serving on school system's workgroups and committees. I served on the Office of School Performance Advisory committee and the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals' high school chapter. I served on the system's Math K-12 workgroup and have been called to serve on interview panels for principals and central office staff administrators. I was the mentor of many administrators who are assistant principals, principals or central office administrators, and served on the Assistant Principal/Principal PAR panel. A team and I presented a session at the MD Association and Secondary School Principals' conference in April. I am a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and an active member of my church in Baltimore, The Good Shepherd Church of God in Christ. I have three children and a wife who keep me busy with sports and school related events.