Williams headed to Sunnyvale
Former BHS Principal to assume SISD Superintendent post July 2

FORMER BHS PRINCI"PAL"-- Doug Williams (right) is leaving BISD after four years to become the Superintendent at Sunnyvale ISD. Williams stated he will miss relationships formed with the community & students like Dustin Wilson (left).

Sunnyvale ISD has lured away one of Brownsboro Independent School district's finalist families.

BHS Principal Doug Williams has been named the new Superintendent of the Sunnyvale school district.

The Williams family has been a staple at Brownsboro for the past four years. Mr. Williams was named the High School principal in 2003 and his wife Kris has taught English at BHS since their arrival.

Prior to accepting the Principal 's role at BHS, Williams served as Assistant Principal at Winnsboro High School for four years after a 12-year coaching career.

Williams earned his Superintendent Certification in 2001 growing one step closer to fulfilling one of his career school administration goals.

"Without a doubt" was Williams ' response when asked if becoming a Superintendent was something he had always aspired to do.

The Sunnyvale ISD Board of Trustees approved Williams ' hiring during their regular board meeting last Tuesday. Williams replaces Seth Adams as the district superintendent just as the school is headed for mass expansion. Adams announced his retirement in late 2006.

Over the next two years the school district plans to build a high school campus to be completed by the fall of 2009. Currently students have been transferred to North Mesquite for high school classes as SISD currently serves only classes K-8th grade.

New this upcoming school year Sunnyvale will offer Freshman classes and will graduate its first class in 2011. The district will continue adding classes 10-12th grade as the class progresses each year.

While classes are being added the students in grades not covered by the school that are in the school district will still attend North Mesquite.

By the 2011 school year Williams expects 400-450 kids in the high school.

Another special thing about the move for the Williams family is the fact that Caleb, Mr. Williams' only son, will be one of the first freshmen at Sunnyvale as well as one of the first Sunnyvale High School graduates.

Caleb has been involved in athletics while at Brownsboro and will still be able to play football and more at the new SHS. The UIL has been petitioned for District approval and the teams will be fielded as the classes grow older. There will be a freshman sports team this upcoming school year and possibly a Junior Varsity team next season.

Williams oldest daughter Emily graduated from BHS this year and was named the Salutatorian with a GPA of 102.3393. Younger daughter Olivia will be entering the 7th grade at SJHS.

Sunnyvale is a growing community located on Hwy. 80 between Mesquite and Garland. With a population of around 3,500 people, the community covers 16 acres.

Even though he is fulfilling one of his goals Williams has mixed emotions about the move. Personally he will miss the relationships built with the BISD staff and the people in the community. Professionally Williams is excited about the opportunity.

One of many questions on Williams' mind as the move draws closer is if he will indeed like being a Superintendent.

Becoming a Super may mean Williams will lose his favorite part of his time as a principal and coach, the relationship with the students.

Williams enjoyed talking with each student during lunch breaks or assisting the students in college prep and just being there on a daily basis to develop relationships.

Sunnyvale has requested that Williams begin focusing full-time on the district on July 2. Until then Williams is helping BISD in summer preparation for the new school year. He stressed a strong desire to help BISD make a smooth transition in the process of finding a new high school principal.

The Williams family has found a house in Sunnyvale and will move there once all the final paperwork is complete.

BISD began the process of looking for a new principal 12-14 days ago before Williams was officially named the Superintendent at SISD.

BISD superintendent Elton Caldwell said the school district has received several applications and hopes to have a new principal in place the first few weeks in July.

Caldwell also stated that the Williams family did an excellent job at Brownsboro and will be missed greatly. He also wished them well.

During his time in Brownsboro Williams helped BHS improve academically and also helped ensure students were ready for college.

"Williams was instrumental in improving TAKS scores and continued the academic improvement started under former principal Larry Williams, " Caldwell said.

Also during Doug Williams' tenure at BHS the extra curricular programs experienced great success all around.

SAT and ACT scores improved 8-10% during Williams ' tenure and students participating in the AP class also increased. Maggi Debenport's College Readiness program was started and honors classes were reinstated.

"We enjoyed our time in Brownsboro and the people we met here," Williams said. "This is a great opportunity but we will still miss the people."

He went on to say "Elton Caldwell is the best superintendent I have ever worked for."

Doug Williams is a graduate of East Texas State University where he earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees.