‘Leave it better than you found it’. Departing schools chief reflects on her time in NOLA.

Avis Williams came to New Orleans schools as an outsider. Now, she’s stepping down as schools superintendent feeling like a member of the community.

When Williams was selected after a months-long search to take the reins of NOLA Public Schools, she was rounding out a five-year stint as superintendent of Selma City Schools in Alabama. Despite her outsider status, she said, she was welcomed with open arms when she was hired as the first woman to permanently lead New Orleans public schools in its more than 180 years.

"I never took that for granted,” Williams said in a recent interview. “The community has really embraced me and collaborated and partnered with me in an amazing way.”

After more than two years at the helm of the district, Williams will leave her post on Dec. 1.

Her resignation comes as the district faces fallout from providing charter schools with incorrect tax revenue projections, leading to an estimated $36 million budget shortfall. But the district has also celebrated recent gains: On Wednesday, Williams announced that New Orleans schools earned their highest state performance scores since 2018.

“I always want to ensure that when I'm in a role I'm leaving it better than I found it," she said, "and I feel as though that has happened."

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

What are some of your proudest accomplishments?

I often say, "Our babies are more than a test score, our schools are more than a letter grade."

However, all of that matters. And this year I was excited to announce that our district made the greatest gains in the last two years than we've made since we've been using the current accountability system.

I thank our (charter school) leaders for that, our teachers, our scholars and families, our central office staff for the support that they've provided, because that's a big deal.

What surprised you about the New Orleans school system coming from Selma?

I was clear on the structure and how different it is from a traditional school district, but what surprised me most was just how relevant Hurricane Katrina still is.

There have been so many conversations where we're still grappling with the trauma and still making sure that we name it. Even as we approach the 20th anniversary for Hurricane Katrina, its impact is still seen.

What work have you done in the mental health space?

We have scholars and families that have experienced trauma, and some that live in trauma.?We've got work to do, but the good news is that we've made it a norm to be able to talk about mental health.

With ThriveKids (a district partnership with Children’s Hospital New Orleans), we’ve helped thousands of scholars and families have access to mental health counseling as well as wraparound services.

Through the work of our student support services — Mental Health First Aid training, trauma informed practices, restorative practices — we are supporting our schools to ensure that mental health and wellness are part of how we do school.

Can you speak about the challenges of being a superintendent today?

One of the things that I often say is that the biggest challenge we have as a school district is the fact that we're in an urban city and schools are a microcosm of the entire city.

We're grappling with the same challenges that our city faces. One thing that I learned a long time ago is the power of collaboration, community engagement, authentic relationships and partnerships.

What do you see as some of the biggest challenges facing the district?

Definitely talent, particularly teachers. We know that an effective teacher is the biggest difference maker as it relates to improving student outcomes, and there's a national teacher shortage.

And just making sure that we're supporting all students, with a focus on our scholars who are the furthest away from opportunity. Oftentimes here, those are our students in poverty, our students who are English learners, our students with special needs and our students who may be homeless.

Now that you helped the open the city's first district-run school in two decades, do you think the district can and should operate more traditional public schools?

I do see a world where the district may be hybrid (with traditional and charter schools).

The plan that I presented (to the school board in October) has timelines and what the needs would be to be able to open either a new school or to transform an existing school to be run by the district.

Do I believe the district can do it? I believe this district can do anything it sets its mind to, as long as what we're doing is in the best interest of children.

In the last month, the district has been dealing with the fallout from incorrect tax-revenue projections. What has been done to ensure it won’t happen again?

The first thing is ensuring that we've got checks and balances within our personnel.

This was a human error. We’ve already reorganized our finance team to ensure that those checks and balances are in place, so that if we're responsible for making updates to the calculator that makes the predictions for funding, that those updates are being made. And if we're responsible for getting the correct numbers or audited numbers from the city as it relates to ad valorem taxes or sales tax, that we've got someone who is doing that and communicating well with our (charter school) leaders, our board chairs and the finance leaders, as well as the Orleans Parish School Board.

I do feel confident that moving forward, the district will be able to just do a better job of communicating and collaborating.

Some charter leaders have criticized the district's communication with them. What do you say to that?

We have monthly meetings with our (charter school) leaders, and some would show up and some wouldn't. And we have newsletters and I emailed them on a regular basis. They all have my cell number if they ever needed anything.

There's always room for improvement, but I feel good about the attempts that I made to collaborate, to support and to build positive relationships.

And for those who feel like that wasn't enough, I would challenge them to look in the mirror.

What can you tell us about Fateama Fulmore, who is stepping into your role?

I've known her for over a decade, but we've never worked together until now.

It's a beautiful thing to see her spread her wings, and I could not be more excited for her to have the opportunity to be interim here.

What’s next for you?

I am working with a couple of colleagues and other authors, and we'll have some exciting writing projects that I'll be announcing next year. I’m also looking forward to doing some consulting, which I’ve been doing part-time as a superintendent.

I look forward to just being able to continue to lead and serve with my core values: equity, excellence and joy.