His Story
Bob Williams grew up in Palmer, Alaska, the son of a logger and a nurse, and was the first in his family to attend college. He earned a degree in petroleum engineering, but a Peace Corps recruiter told him he could be a math teacher in West Africa instead. He taught in the Gambia with a box of chalk and a painted cement board, and he once biked six miles to meet a student’s parents, who thanked him with a live chicken. The visit taught him “the value of investing time in building positive relationships and trust with families.”
He went on to teach in New York City public schools, in Nome and Houston, Alaska, and at Palmer High School, and since 2006 he has taught at Colony High School. He teaches AP Calculus, Geometry and Algebra 1 and gets strong results with both his top students and those who struggle. His colleagues say the number of students taking AP Calculus has more than doubled since he arrived.
Williams wants every student to feel “respected, valued, welcomed, and safe.” His classroom has a “parking lot” poster where students leave anonymous sticky-note feedback, and he has responded by adding 6:30 am review sessions before tests, open to every student in the school, and by posting video lessons for students who are traveling. Every year he emcees the school’s Pi Day Math Assembly, where the AP Calculus class is introduced like a varsity team and the choir sings the William Tell Overture with the lyrics 3.14159.
Beyond the Classroom
Williams was the 2009 Alaska Teacher of the Year, received the 2009 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching and the 2010 NEA Foundation Horace Mann Award for Excellence in Teaching, and earned National Board Certification in 2011. He has been a teacher leader with the National Network of State Teachers of the Year since 2010, serves on its board and chairs its Research Committee, and was president of the Alaska Council of Teachers of Mathematics from 2011 to 2013.
As a state mentor, he coached 19 beginning teachers in rural and suburban Alaska, including in the whaling villages of Savoonga and Gambell, and he helped Savoonga reach a 100 percent teacher retention rate in 2006. He is one of nine trustees of the Alaska Retirement Management Board, which oversees about $28 billion in state retirement assets. He also served on the NEA’s Accountability Task Force in 2014 and 2015, and was the first teacher to bring Edmodo to his district.
Philosophy Into Practice
Williams checks understanding constantly with a simple tool: every student keeps three nested colored cups on the desk, and the one on top shows green for “I get it,” yellow for “a little shaky” or red for “completely lost.” He can adjust the lesson on the spot, and students learn that “red cupping” is safe. He also created the Williams Diamond of Understanding, a dashboard for students to reflect on what they still do not understand, and his geometry classes put it on their class T-shirt.
He believes teachers in a department should give common assessments and review the results together. His math department used the results to improve geometry proofs, and his own video proof project, in which students explain proofs aloud, is now used in every Geometry class at the school. He worries about weakening public support for schools and tells teachers: “I don’t give up.” A private word to a student, such as “I love your work ethic. I believe in you,” can change a student’s outlook.
“Success is a journey filled with flexibility, persistence, and strong communication.”Bob Williams
In His Own Words
“I learned the importance of building trust and positive relationships with students.”Bob Williams
“I do not believe in accepting failure in my students or in our math department.”Bob Williams
“I am accountable to my students, my parents, my colleagues, my principal, my district, and my community.”Bob Williams
What Others Said
“Bob is inspiring to all his students, colleagues, parents he serves, and he represents all educators through his passionate teaching style.”Trevor Townsend, nominator, language arts teacher, Colony High School
“Bob Williams is the most passionate educator I have ever had the privilege of working with in my nineteen years of teaching.”Trevor Townsend, language arts teacher, Colony High School
“As a direct result of our association with Bob, our department members have all become better teachers.”Jeffrey W. Bowker, math teacher, Colony High School
“He is one of the finest teachers that I’ve had the pleasure to work with in my career.”Brendon McMahon, principal, Colony High School
“Taking Mr. Williams’ class showed me the way that higher level math, like calculus, can be used in real life situations.”Powers, former student