Jevon Williams is a 7th grade math teacher at East Hartford Middle School and an East Hartford graduate himself. He naturally relates to his students and keeps them engaged as he inspires them to think critically and solve problems.
“Jevon is great in so many ways. Jevon is curious. He is always thinking about what we are doing and how can we teach it better,” said EHPS Secondary Mathematics Curriculum Supervisor Bob Janes. “And Jevon is super engaging. We had a department meeting just the other day. Jevon got up and taught part of a lesson, and the whole room was captivated. And these are all teachers! By the end, he had people laughing and smiling, and he was just talking about seventh grade math, which is a topic typically people don't smile and laugh about, especially teachers, right? They already know this stuff.”
Janes, who nominated Mr. Williams for the Staff Spotlight, said he loves visiting his classroom because the students are so active and the environment is “rigorous but relaxed.”
“Kids are either working at whiteboards, kids are working in small groups, kids are working on the computers, and the entire time he is monitoring what kids are doing, he's walking around the room talking to kids, he is on his computer seeing what kids are doing on their end, and you have a signature lo-fi music playing in the background, which kind of gets them in the groove of learning and gets them the flow,” said Janes.
East Hartford Middle School Principal Joe Pearce said Mr. Williams has a true knack for teaching and inspiring students. One reason why he’s able to do that so easily is because he grew up in East Hartford.
“He is someone that went to this school. He went to East Hartford High School. He played basketball at East Hartford High School. He's taught at the elementary level, and now we're so thankful to have him here at the middle school level,” said Pearce. “Any student that enters his room is getting a really, really amazing, not only teacher, person, but leader and someone that kids can aspire to be like.”
Learn more about Jevon Williams in the Q&A below.
What’s a typical day like in your math classroom?
Williams: I’m coming in, I’m getting the music started. And then we’re hitting the ground running with math. We do a lot of whiteboard work, working in groups where students can interact and learn from each other. It's called knowledge mobility, where they're looking at other whiteboards and seeing how those strategies apply to them.
My biggest thing was, I struggle with students working through critical thinking. They get to a task and they go, “Mr. Williams, I need help.” “Mr. Williams, I don’t know what to do.” So I was like, all right, what strategies can I use or how can I implement different practices, so students can look at a task, think through it critically, and approach it by themselves, while I'm just in the background monitoring and giving feedback along the way.
How do you reach those students who aren’t as interested in math?
Williams: Every year they come into my class, “Mr. Williams, I hate math.” “Mr. Williams, I don’t like math. I’m scared of math.” I was like, my goal by the end of the year is to make sure either you like math, you approach math with a different mindset, or you say, “Hey, you know what? Mr. Williams is cool enough, I'm about to just tackle these challenges on a day-to-day basis.” I think the way the tests are built, they allow students to just kind of approach it no matter what level you're at. So based on your background knowledge, the test is built where you can use that and utilize your group in order to make strategies and approach the problem. So I think that's the biggest piece there.
And then also, for me, the classroom environment is huge. Between the music and the ability to make mistakes, I'm not about to sit here and go, “Oh my God, you're punished because you made a mistake.” I want you to make mistakes because that's how you learn. And so anytime mistakes happen, those are times to praise those moments and understand that that's actually what you're supposed to do.
What led you to your role as a middle school math teacher?
Williams: I have Mr. LeRoy to thank. He was in the district for a very long time. He brought me in as a coach. Because of that journey in coaching in the district, it allowed me to see teaching and being in the classroom. And then, Mr. LeRoy was at Mayberry and he gave me the opportunity to teach in kindergarten. So I was with the little ones, running around, teaching them how to read and write. And then from there, I did three years at fifth grade level, which was awesome because I got to not only see the ground level of kindergarten, where the achievement gaps are, where the strengths are, but what that continuum looks like when they get to fifth grade.
And then from there, I came to the middle school. There are people along the way who helped me get these opportunities, even when I didn't have the experience on paper. Mr. Janes took me in. I don’t have a math background, but Mr. Janes and Mr. Ryan believed in me, believed in my character, who I am, and that I would get the job done. This is my third year as a seventh-grade math teacher, and I'm loving every second of it.
As a former East Hartford student yourself, what is it like teaching in your hometown?
Williams: I’m from here, born and raised, and that's the been an interesting piece, being able to come back. You leave the bubble of East Hartford and I gained a lot of perspective from so many different people. So to bring all that knowledge and perspective into the classroom, into the students, even with some colleagues, I think that's been a benefit, and that's been awesome. It’s about giving back because I know for me personally, when I was growing up, I only knew the bubble of East Hartford for the most part. Once I stepped outside of that, my whole world just grew. And that's the opportunity, hopefully, I'm here to try to give the students, so they may step out of that bubble, take everything they learn from East Hartford, and apply it to the rest of the world.
What do you love most about your job?
Williams: I would say two things. The light bulb moment when students are grappling through and they're trying to figure it out. And then the moment they get feedback or the moment they see the pattern, they go, “Oh, Mr. Williams!”. That's it right there. Those are the moments that fill my cup.
I would say the other thing, too, is watching the student grow from the beginning of year to the end. When you're in a storm, a lot of times you don't see the growth that's happening because you're in it. So I get to step on the outside and see students go through the mistakes, go through the struggle. They may not feel like they're growing, but there's times along the way where I can provide that feedback or provide that snapshot for them. Where I can go, “Look, this is where you started, and this is where you're at. And you said you didn't like math? Stop it.” Those are the moments I appreciate.