DIRECTOR OF THE OREGON DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Dr. Kishimoto
So, it’s a beautiful day here in the Pacific Northwest. I am so excited to bring you another interview with an outstanding leader in education who is going to make her mark not only in the Pacific Northwest but in the entire nation. A new friend, Dr. Charlene Williams, the newly appointed state chief in the state of Oregon. Welcome, Charlene.
Dr. Wiliams
Thank you. I’m so excited to be here. And that just sounds so heavy when you say that. And yet it’s so important and exciting at the same time. So thank you for the invitation.
Dr. Kishimoto
Governor Tina Kotek was elected into office recently in the state of Oregon, and as a woman governor, she then turns around and appoints a woman state chief for education in Oregon. It sounds like there’s something very intentional about what’s happening in Oregon. We’re excited. We’re all watching, not just in the Pacific Northwest, but we’re also watching nationally.
As you transition from the role as deputy superintendent in Evergreen public schools into this position, how are you feeling?
Dr. Williams
I am excited, I am honored. I am charged. In thinking about the possibility that this position gives me to elevate what high-quality education looks like and what hard work our educators are doing across the state to help our learners and to use this platform to garner resources and support for our students, especially those who have been most marginalized. I’m just really excited about an opportunity to really make a difference on a larger scale. It’s been my calling from day one. In education, how can I make a difference and make education accessible… and to be able to do this at the state level is quite an honor! I’m looking forward to it.
Dr. Kishimoto
I remember my days when I was first appointed in Hawaii and how just personally exciting and meaningful it was to me and my family. And so I hope that you are starting out with enough time to at least have a breath to celebrate.
Dr. Williams
My family’s over the moon. I’m gonna try to do this without crying. My daughter just posted about how proud she was of me. And she called me Mom-In-Chief. And I just have not realized sometimes how much people really are in your corner cheering you on and want you to be successful. And my family has just been there all along on this journey.
I remember when I became a principal for the first time at Roosevelt High School, it was actually my second role as principal, but it was a bigger job. And because it was transformation work, I asked my family for permission. Like, this is going to be a big job, and I don’t want to even go for it if it’s going to negatively impact this family. And let me explain to you what I even think the impact is going to be. And we sat down, and they were in middle school, and I talked to my husband. They’ve known my dream from day one, in terms of making a big impact in education, especially for those of us who have been pushed to the margins. And they were like, Mom, you’ve got to do it. And we talked about how they were playing basketball and involved in different things, and they said you don’t need to come to all our games anyway because we’re not that good. We’ll tell you which games to come to and which dances to come to (laughing). And so it’s just been a partnership with my family, who have been in my corner this whole time, understanding and cheering me on and being really a part of the work. Education is a family business, and just being a part of the community because I believe in his work. It’s not just a job to me. It’s a mission, and it’s how we live together in community.
Dr. Kishimoto
So, we certainly don’t leave ourselves and our personal lives at the door when we take positions like this. The whole family comes along, the whole family’s impacted. And I’m glad you shared that because I think for women who are watching and young girls who are watching, they need to know the reality. They need to be ready, they need to know that this is possible. And whether you choose to be a role model or not, there are so many women in the field and young ladies in high school still, who are watching, who are watching you, and are excited and cheering you on.
So there are those who cheer you on that you know, like your family, like your daughter, and then there are those that you will never meet personally who are watching and cheering you on as well. This is really a significant moment in time, and I’m really proud and excited for you. You mentioned the word partnership. And as you come into this position, how do you want superintendents in Oregon to partner with you? How do you want to partner with them?
Dr. Williams
That is a beautiful question. My career has really been around partnership. As a teacher partnering with students and helping elevate their understanding around whatever content area. I’m not doing things to you, we’re going to do things together, first and foremost. And I know that superintendents align with this particular value, just continuing to center students and what their needs are is going to be important because I know that is what’s on their hearts. It’s on my heart. How can we ensure that our students thrive academically after having gone through an unprecedented time? And we know that education is difficult and challenging in some spaces right now. We still do not know the lasting impacts of the pandemic. And I know almost every educator that I’m talking to is just grappling with how do we continue to pour the necessary resources into our classrooms so that our students can thrive, so our educators feel like they have capacity, skills, and support to do this work. So centering students and their needs. I’m a community and coalition builder. I really believe in listening, coming alongside people, elevating their concerns, and circling back. I think sometimes we, in education, unintentionally we’ll do surveys, or we may have a community forum, but then what do we do with that information? Do we come back and say, we heard you, and here are the moves that we’ve made? Let’s continue, let’s stay in dialogue, is this working, is this what you said, and lean into conversation to make sure that I’m meeting their needs.
Dr. Kishimoto
Dr. Williams, the Coalition of Oregon Superintendents and Administrators – and I love that the professional association Oregon uses the word coalition – is also known as COSA. Krista Parent is one of the leaders who’s been there for the last five years, talking about the need for inclusivity, the need for representation. And she’s been very intentional in her focus on both the lack of women superintendents in Oregon and the retention issue with women superintendents, but also superintendents of color. When I looked at the recent numbers, it looks like there are nine superintendents of color in the entire state out of nearly 200, and about 49 women, and that 49 number is the result of about eight or so that just joined various superintendencies throughout the state. And so when you look at those numbers, collectively, it’s actually below the national average. We know, as a nation, we’re not doing a good job in terms of access to the superintendency for women and people of color, leaders of color. And so, what do you hope to bring relative to this work in terms of attention at a statewide level, leveraging your seat, and also being part of the national conversation about what has to happen in this space?
Dr. Williams
“If we are serious about retention, what structures are we willing to put in place? How much are we willing to invest? If we really say these things are important.”
I’m glad you mentioned COSA and Krista. I had the privilege actually, my first gathering of superintendents was with the women’s group that COSA leads and Krista actually led. And it was such a warm and inviting space. The intentionality of holding a space where we as women can come together and provide support for one another, be vulnerable with each other, problem-solve together, and share resources. You’re not in this alone. You’re not the only one these things are happening to. Here are some things that we can do to coalesce in order to address some of the barriers and challenges. So number one is being present in those spaces. That is important for me in this role; to elevate the importance of that group and to work alongside them as we problem-solve together on ways to recruit and retain women and people of color in these positions.
It reminds me of when my husband was recruited by a company here in Oregon in 1998. My husband said we’ll be here for three years. The company was intentional in a number of ways. They assigned a person to us to help shepherd us, chaperone us into Oregon. To understand the ways in which to buy a home, how to get connected with a church, where to get my hair done, find babysitting, just some of the basic things. So the intentionality that the company made around recruiting and retention was just powerful. Monthly activities with the employees that also involve families and giving us more opportunities to connect, build, and find community.
If we are serious about retention, what structures are we willing to put in place? How much are we willing to invest? If we really say these things are important. So I’m willing to do whatever I can to put resources and time into facilitating planning. This is not just for superintendents but educators in general. We have a shortage. In Oregon, we’re not one of the highest paying when you factor in cost of living. There are many factors that need to be addressed. If we’re really going to be an attractive state, if we’re really gonna retain the best educators, we have to put some structure around and intention around it. We can’t hope that this happens; we have to have a strategy.
And Kristin and the team are starting that work. Being able to leverage all the contacts and partners across our state and nationally, thank you, people who may be doing this as well in other places, leverage that wisdom because this is vitally important for us to truly thrive. We know that when we have a diverse workforce, we do better in whatever sector, including in education. Especially when students can look up and see and experience teachers who look like them and look into windows and see teachers who don’t, it creates a richer experience. It creates better outcomes. And we’re really missing out. So you kind of hit a button for me. This is very important to me.
Dr. Kishimoto
Well, I think you hit on some key points. This is also an economic driver. We know that national reports say that the more diverse companies are, there is an economic benefit to that company. And so we can look at this from representation, from inclusivity. We can look at this from a justice and civil rights perspective. But this is also an economic driver for communities to have a diverse workforce, and so I am excited about the perspective that you bring to this. We look forward to how you’re going to keep advancing this agenda. I’m wondering, Charlene, what are some of the other policy priorities for you as you start this work that may be specific to Oregon, but also, you may have some perspective on things happening nationally in terms of some national policy perspectives that are impacting your state.
Dr. Williams
Well, recently, we just passed House Bill 3198, which is around early literacy. We know when students have a strong foundation, a strong beginning, they are more likely to thrive. Today is my youngest daughter’s birthday, August 2, and we have simultaneously a press conference where the governor is signing this early literacy bill. And my daughter and I were talking about what she remembered from being taught to read at home, and she was like, I just remember you making us read. We would have the girls obviously read to us to continue to build their love of learning. One of our goals today is we have an early literacy campaign that we’re about to launch across the state, where we’re going to encourage “everybody reading.” We have different things that we are going to implement to try to make that happen. So I’m just really excited about the momentum that the literacy bill is building. But there are also several other things that we need to do. I mean, if we’re really going to go back to that conversation around retention, we need some stronger policy and support from our legislators to do that and funding to support it. Because again, if we’re going to increase salaries, if we’re going to create mechanisms to do this work, it takes resources, and to continue to draw from the existing pot only shrinks resources in other areas. And so we really have to think about investment long term and consider what it takes to build a thriving workforce in this state.
Dr. Kishimoto
Certainly, as we look at where we are as a nation in terms of literacy levels, not only in K-12 but as we continue to track what’s happening with adults and adult literacy and the kind of literacy that they need today with this tech-based economy that we have, we have to do so much better. And we can; we know how to teach reading. The question is, why are we falling short? Why do we have adults today that still don’t have the literacy skills that they need to thrive in the workforce? This is a core driver for us as a nation.
I’m really glad you brought up that policy issue because it’s something that we all need to talk about, we all need to think about. And as you said, we need to prioritize our resources because that is, in fact, a nexus point of access to everything else.
You used the word intentional earlier. You have to be intentional in teaching reading and teaching that love of learning and reading, just like your youngest daughter, so astutely said, already a policy leader of the future. As she said, sometimes mommy makes me do it. I think that you just have to prioritize it, as wisely said by a young girl.
Dr. Williams
Yes. Well, the thing that I love about what we’ve done with our policy, I believe, and this will be a great place to test this for fact, but in our literacy framework, we have these four objectives, one being, of course, increase early literacy, definitely improve the literacy identity of our young scholars here in Oregon. The second is to eliminate disparity, so it’s just not predictable. Those two things we want across the board, in all content areas, but literacy, especially early literacy. The other two are what makes this policy a little more unique to Oregon, and that is that we have to engage our families and community partners in this work. As we are releasing funds to districts, they have to articulate how they are going to engage families as partners in the literacy journey. And the fourth piece being, do this in a culturally responsive and research-based way. So it really calls to the forefront what are you going to intentionally do to be culturally responsive, which kind of forces dialogue around what that means.
Dr. Kishimoto
I love all four of them. I think they are focused, they’re intentional, and they are keeping us on the right track in terms of addressing this issue. The third one really resonates with me because I am a big believer that our parents and communities are the greatest untapped resource. You know, it’s not that we don’t tap them, it’s not that we don’t have great examples of how we do partner with them, but there’s so much more that we can do to elevate the voices of parents as we do this policy work, as we implement these priorities. So I’m really excited that parents are very specifically mentioned in Oregon’s plan.
So, Dr. Williams, Charlene, I’m so excited to have had this time with you. I want to wrap up with this question. We have a lot of divisive politics throughout the country that are really interrupting the ability to stay focused on the policies that are most important to elevating communities, to focusing on children, to supporting families and creating the stability and economic force needed. In light of this, are you feeling like you’re hopeful because there is enough of a counterforce on that divisive kind of perspective and politicking, or are you feeling worried about the future in the next few years?
Dr. Williams
Yes, that’s a good frame. I think sometimes I feel a little of both. I lean more hopeful, and here’s why. At least in my experience working in a small, suburban community, with some rural aspects for sure. I found that as a leader, we have to use strategy when we are really trying to do what’s right for kids through an equity lens. When I speak in different places, I tell folks it’s important to build a coalition of the willing and to get clear and coordinated around what equity means to you. And to have a common vision and understanding, if you center what’s good for kids, it’s going to be difficult for people to disagree.
So when we look at equity, we look at it through Dr. Campbell’s four B’s in particular. She’s one of my mentors, and she says equity is really about belonging. It’s about reducing barriers to learning. It’s about believing, do we want to believe in each and every one of our students? And then it’s about broadcasting student voice. So being clear about what equity means and what you’re getting at, at the end of the day. We have to address the harm. We have to address the institutional structures. And we also have to create a vision of the future, and we have to have a strategy of hope that actually has some tangible outcomes and change. And so it gives me hope that I can see in these small spaces and places that when we do get more people to lean in, that diminishes some of the extreme voices that don’t want to hear and be a part of the conversation.
Dr. Kishimoto
So from the mouth of Dr. Charlene Williams, a forward look that says we need to be intentional. We have a little bit of introduction on who Charlene is as she walks into this tremendous and important, and high-value leadership role. We look forward to seeing your work in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest, and also hearing your voice on the national front. Thank you for being with us at Voice4Equity today.
Dr. Williams
Thank you so much. What an honor to be with you today.
