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18 August 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – A Topeka principal has been in education for almost 40 years, and this year will be his last.
Long-time educator Victor Williams has been teaching for 39 years, 24 of which he’s spent as the principal of McEachron Elementary School. After decades of doing what he loves, he’s decided this school year will be his last.
Even though he’s chosen to retire in the spring, Williams wouldn’t trade the moment’s he’s had with students over the years for anything.
“It’s been great to be the person to help others make that positive relationship with kids and where kids want to be and where kids want to come,” Williams said.
His fellow staff members say his impact on not just students, but their families too, is unmatched. Williams always goes the extra mile to make learning fun.
“In assembly, he’ll bring his guitar and he always has some crazy song that’s he’s going to sing,” Kim Long, McEachron P.E. Teacher, said. “And I don’t know that a lot of principals do what he does.”
Long has taught alongside Principal Williams for all 24 years at McEachron, as she arrived to the school as a P.E. teacher just one year before him. In that time, Williams has started a unique unicycling class for students as well as a ‘bike club’. Both are meant to create a fun learning environment, get students active and teach them life lessons for the future.
“Some things that seem hard really aren’t hard if you put your mind to it,” Williams said. “The growth mindset thinking, that was kind of my thing to get through to them with those types of things that I did.”
Long told 27 News that seeing Williams go in the spring will be emotional.
“Having that positive mindset, it’s contagious,” Long said. “And he has definitely made a great impact on my teaching and just my personality in general. We just really enjoy having him here and he will be missed.”