Alexandria Williams with students
A big yellow card celebrating National Principals Day stands prominently in Hopkins Middle School Principal Alexandria Williams’s office. The front of the card reads, “The difference you make, makes all the difference.” Inside the card are signatures from students, thanking her for supporting them.
It’s just one of the dozens of cards Williams has received from students in her six years as principal at Hopkins Middle.
“Just to hear those words from my students is great. It doesn’t even take gifts. It’s just hearing them say it and appreciating you for what you do,” she said.
Williams, a product of Richland One, was inspired to go into education by her fourth-grade teacher at Meadowfield Elementary School, Susan Jones. She said Jones made learning fun, simple, and realistic.
“Ms. Jones was a dynamic teacher. She was very energetic. From that point, I knew was I going to be an educator,” said Williams.
In addition to attending Meadowfield, Williams attended Hand Middle School and graduated from Dreher High School in 1997.
After graduating from Winthrop University in 2001, Williams started her Richland One career as a science teacher at Eau Claire High School. After a year at Eau Claire, she started teaching science at W.G. Sanders Middle School in 2002, where she stayed for eight years before moving to W.J. Keenan High School in 2010.
One day, while working at W.J. Keenan, Williams was asked if she’d like to move up to administration.
“At first I was like ‘No. I don’t want to do that.’ But after several conversations, I decided to give it a try,” she said.
After six years at W.J. Keenan, Williams returned to W.G. Sanders in 2016, this time as an assistant principal working alongside current principal Andrenna Smith.
“She [Smith] trained me to be an effective leader in the classroom and to be an exceptional principal. When I got to Hopkins Middle, she made sure I had what I needed to be successful,” said Williams.
After spending four years at W.G. Sanders, Williams became the principal at Hopkins Middle in 2020.
She says she’s always looking to see how her students are doing and what they think needs to be improved. One thing she does every day is talk with 10 different students for two minutes each during their lunchtimes.
“I’m always asking for their opinions because this is their school and I want them to take pride in it. I want them to enjoy coming here each day,” said Williams.
She says she strives to be as transparent and build as many trusting relationships with parents as possible. Williams says she’ll send parents positive notes about their children and invite them into the schools to see what their children are learning. She says she emphasizes to parents that the school is there to support them and their child.
“If a student comes to school and there’s something they need, we provide them with clothing, food or whatever they need in order to be successful. I want our parents to know that we’re not out to get them. We’re here to help them so that they don’t feel like they have to hide certain situations from us,” said Williams.
She says she also takes the time to learn something new about her staff members and loves to celebrate their successes.
“If someone is getting married or having a baby shower, we’re going to celebrate and get to know each and every person in this building,” Williams said.
Williams says Hopkins Middle is a family full of support for one another.
“We are out here together. We are eagles. We soar as one,” she said.
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