April 23, 3018

David Williams

Board Member Since 2010

Lawrence Schools Foundation board member and current Prairie Park Elementary School Principal David Williams discovered the joy of education in Mrs. Bockoven’s second-grade class at Brownell Elementary School in Lincoln, Neb. It was at that young age he realized he wanted to be a teacher.

“Every day she created a magical space for learning,” Williams said. “She was so creative and provided the class so many different ways to learn and demonstrate what we knew… After experiencing that classroom, I knew that I wanted to become a teacher just like Mrs. Bockoven. I wanted to have a room that was the window to the world for my own students, a learning space that allowed students to grow, explore and build big dreams for their own life. Mrs. Bockoven taught me that knowledge was power and when you coupled learning with passion you can do anything.”

Williams would one day become an elementary school teacher before eventually moving into administration during a career which has stretched from Nebraska to Arizona to Lawrence, Kan. He has served as principal of Prairie Park Elementary since 2001.

Williams is in his third term on the Foundation Board after joining as the organization’s principal representative in 2010.

“I love and believe the board’s mission that everybody benefits from great public schools,” he said. “…The Lawrence community supports public education and realizes the importance of making sure that all of the children in Lawrence are afforded the opportunity to access a great education.”

Williams has been an active member of the Foundation’s program committee, which reviews and selects senior scholarship recipients, teacher grants and staff awards. He has also chaired the district staff fundraising campaign.

“I also helped develop the slogan ‘Everybody Benefits From Great Public Schools’,” he said.

In his rare spare time Williams reads, cooks, bakes, bikes, walks and runs half marathons. He is also a part of the Heartland Men’s Chorus in Kansas City. Williams has three sons: Reid, who is 23 and a nurse in Wichita, Evan, who is 21 and works in the school district, but will return to school to get a business degree and Seth, a junior at Free State.

“All three of my children have benefitted from being a part of Lawrence Public Schools,” Williams said.