With New Principal, a Renewed Sense of Energy

"We were trying to put back more time in the instructional period as well as plan for advisories," he said.

Students have complained that they don't have time to get to class across the sprawling campus. Williams is working with the Student Government Association to determine whether extra time is needed.

The advisories, in which small groups of students meet with an adviser every two weeks, are a key component of Williams's goal of creating relationships between staff and students. The advisories build on the concept of the career academies, which are courses of study that are designed to break the school into smaller learning communities. In their sophomore year, students choose an academy, which is assigned its own teachers, administrators and counselor.

Williams, who joined the county schools in 1994, served as Gaithersburg's principal for two years. Previously, he served as principal of William H. Farquhar Middle School in Olney, assistant principal at Benjamin Banneker Middle School in Burtonsville and assistant principal at James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring.

At Blair, he said he is working to improve communication among staff members, administrators and students. He has put his calendar online and had staff members create a master calendar that coordinates the testing calendar, activities of the school's various programs, athletics and other events.

"I came in and said, 'We've got to coordinate all this,' " he said. "I realized that not everybody realized what others are doing."

Williams said he has learned that being in charge of such a large school also required changes in his leadership style.

So he is relying more on checking in with staff in charge of the school's programs and taking time to drop by classrooms. He told his five vice principals that "we have to be more visible" and moved back an early morning instructional leadership team meeting so that staff members could be in the halls with students.

"When the bell rings, we need to be in the halls. I do realize that will consume time, but I do believe we have to be accessible," he said.

The increased presence has been noticed by students and teachers, Rogers said. "It's been very well received," she said. "I've heard so many comments about that."

Williams is not afraid to show students a lighter side. He recently rapped about how he got to Blair in a video he called "The Fresh Principal of Blair," a spoof of the theme from the 1990s TV show "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."

The brief video, shown during morning announcements, has been posted on YouTube, the popular video Web site.

Williams also is trying to strengthen school pride by asking students and staff members to wear school colors on Fridays and drumming up support for Blair's sports teams. He's begun playing a song on Friday mornings, such as "Wake Up Everybody" by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, to start the day with a positive message. Students also have begun offering song requests, he said.

"We want to bring back the pride," he said. "To say we're all glad to be here. We're one school with many faces."