Michelle Williamson

School Counselor committed to digging deep with the sweet kids of our community.

[dae✨ @loveedaee]

idk. that's just not true. i literally birthed him.

[Michelle Williamson @MW_Counselor]

These are my people! 💛✨ #BeTheLight

[Dr. O'Dell Owens Center for Learning @CPS_OwensCenter]

Shining bright in our new team shirts. ✨✨ Honoring our amazing staff after being recognized for decreasing chronic absenteeism by 10% first quarter at Lighthouse. #BeTheLight @IamCPS

[Michelle Williamson @MW_Counselor]

I am proud of the work we’re doing at Lighthouse every day but let’s talk about these students though….they’re the real rockstars!!Overcoming so many barriers to find success + value in their education—Amazing stuff! ✨

[Dr. O'Dell Owens Center for Learning @CPS_OwensCenter]

Don't mind us at over here at LHS.... 72% of our kids grew by more than 80% on their MAP tests...... We crushing it 🫶🏽🫶🏽@IamCPS

[Monte Syrie @MonteSyrie]

Every time a kid walks in my room, I feel the weight of responsibility.

Thing is.

They never really leave the room.

After 28 years, they're still in the room--all of them.

Heavy job, ours.

[Michelle Williamson @MW_Counselor]

I love this teacher’s passion! She brought the music her kid’s listen to (whether people like it or not) & made it relevant + engaging to their classroom family. Bringing joy + fun to school is what keep kids engaged & coming back everyday and THAT IS THE GOAL! 10/10! 🔥

[Ian Miles @ianmiles]

Some people are offended by this video, but I really don't see any problem with it? What am I missing?

[Michelle Williamson @MW_Counselor]

So proud of our team! So proud of our leader! We doing this thing! 💪🏼

[Dr. O'Dell Owens Center for Learning @CPS_OwensCenter]

Deep dive into our school data today at Principal meeting....... look 👀 at this ‼️

We earned THREE stars for gap closing. So proud! We on the move! @IamCPS @principallearns

[Dr. Bryan Pearlman #MaslowBeforeBloom @DrP_Principal]

Mikey was a student who exhibited some of the most extreme behaviors for a young student. He had already received three superintendent level suspensions before he completed third grade. Mikey had more days out of school than in school. The behaviors included many physical altercations with students and staff, destruction of school property, consistent and significant disruption of the classroom (and school), and eloping from campus.

As principal, I really should have been listed as the teacher of record for Mikey, since he was in my office every day for several hours. Mikey was off-task pretty close to 100% of the time. Nothing in my toolbox worked well to reduce the negative behaviors.

A colleague suggested that we give him a “special job” in the building with more responsibility than his behaviors had warranted. At first I thought this was a very bad idea. But what choice did I have? Nothing else had worked. Worst case scenario, this too wouldn’t work and I would be in no worse place than where I had started. I asked for his recommendation. He suggested that we put him in charge of announcing the buses at arrival and dismissal. I told him that this sounded like a really bad idea. The thought of giving Mikey a walkie-talkie seemed to be a recipe for disaster. Mikey used words that even made me blush. Each classroom had a walkie in it too. I could just picture the damage control that I would have to do after Mikey used a four-letter word for the whole world to hear. My colleague reminded me about what I had to lose and the fact that nothing else had worked.

I went digging in our school’s basement and found an old bright orange crossing guard vest (circa 1985), a really beat up “Lil Captain” badge, and a Radio Shack walkie-talkie. On Friday afternoon, I called Mikey down to my office. I asked if he would be interested in a job at school. He asked for some information about the job. I told him that we really needed help with buses arriving and leaving each day since Dr. P was really bad at it. Mikey agreed that Dr. P was really bad at it and he said that he would like that job. I gave him his uniform and asked that he report on Monday morning.

Very early on Monday morning, I heard a mini-van door slam closed. I looked out the window and recognized the mini-van and the student walking up our sidewalk. Mikey walked straight into my office with a dry cleaning bag over his shoulder. He sat the bag down and pulled out a perfectly cleaned and ironed crossing guard vest with a very shiny badge on it. Mikey put these items on and saluted me. He said, “Captain Mikey reporting for duty sir”. He then took out the walkie-talkie. It had a “Captain Mikey” label on it (his mom must have used a home labeling machine to make this for him). I looked carefully at him and realized that he was completely serious, completely excited about his new job, and had a big smile across his face (I had never seen him smile before).

Mikey was very successful with calling buses as they arrived. In addition, our dismissal process ran like clockwork with Captain Mikey on the job. I have to admit that he was much better at this job than I was. Captain Mikey expanded his job description to help younger kids as they crossed in front of the buses. He even became the king of giving fellow students high fives and morning greetings. Mikey’s behaviors reduced by at least 95% almost immediately.

Even students with the most challenging behaviors have the potential for turning it around. Mikey rose to the occasion, felt needed, experienced success for perhaps the first time, and his behaviors improved significantly.

Thank you for doing whatever it takes to help students to succeed in school and life!

Join the “Maslow Before Bloom” Facebook group: https://t.co/015cLKjJ1m.

[Michelle Williamson @MW_Counselor]

@MrFrostyFrost @EAST_HAWKS @alexfrostwrites Congrats, she’s beautiful!!

[Michelle Williamson @MW_Counselor]

THIS!!

[Dr. Bryan Pearlman #MaslowBeforeBloom @DrP_Principal]

When I was a building principal, we had a group of boys who were consistently getting office referrals during lunch for aggressive and disruptive behaviors. In the past, these behaviors had led to increasingly severe consequences that did not reduce the negative behaviors (and caused some students to be sent home and to miss instruction). I sat down with the group and we worked together to come up with a plan on what to do during lunch. One of the boys asked if we could start a knitting club, since his Auntie had recently taught him how to knit. Since he was a leader of the group, the other boys agreed. I asked them to come back tomorrow with some ideas of what to knit. The next day one of the boys said that he wanted to knit little hats for the preemies at the hospital, since his little cousin was there and that a nurse mentioned that they had run out of the little hats. The boys knitted daily and we delivered the hats to the hospital. We received many heartfelt thank you notes from families, nurses and doctors (and even an in-person visit with a personal thank you and cookies from a newborn's mom). This group continued to grow as did our ability to create knitted hats for preemies. This became a huge success for the participating students. There was significant improvement in the students’ behavior, attitude, achievement, and attendance. It is so important to think outside of the box for “win-win” solutions. It really isn’t the WHAT you do that is important, it is the WHY you are doing it! Our knitting group become a team, family, and community.

#maslowbeforebloom

[Michelle Williamson @MW_Counselor]

@TRexhausen

[Michelle Williamson @MW_Counselor]

One of the greats! So well deserved!

[PCSDVikings @PCSDViking]

News: Princeton City School District’s Board of Education Announces New Superintendent
https://t.co/Jz6OaPQ8x2
--
Elgin Card will step into the role on August 1, 2023, following @vikingdiff1’s retirement.

[Michelle Williamson @MW_Counselor]

The @LJSHawks ‘We Belong Talent Show’ was amazing tonight! These kids shine so bright.✨And I’m always grateful for my @sourcesstrength crew…@TRexhausen + @MrD_Robinson…love our dream team! #WEareLakota

[Michelle Williamson @MW_Counselor]

Middle School students are absolute magic. Love this article! https://t.co/6uHX7bGtM7

[Michelle Williamson @MW_Counselor]

@SD_LODI Happy Birthday to the 🐐! ❤️

[Michelle Williamson @MW_Counselor]

@TRexhausen So, so sad I was out of town and missed it!! This is a great group of leaders!! ☺️

[Michelle Williamson @MW_Counselor]

I get the honor of co-leading @1N5_org’s Youth Council for Suicide Prevention group for HS students. These teens are AMAZING & work hard to erase mental health’s stigma & prevent suicide! I’d love it if you’d support their mission tonight at the Hyde park Chipotle until 9pm! 💚

[Michelle Williamson @MW_Counselor]

@ljw21 I am thankful for time with my boyfriend, nieces + nephews & family and the opportunity to pause from work & school to spend 1:1 quality time with them with minimal distractions!

[Michelle Williamson @MW_Counselor]

Our @LJSHawks students really stepped it up to help @sourcesstrength collect coats for @BridgesLakota in order to help our #WEareLakota community. Love these students’ hearts! ❤️

[Michelle Williamson @MW_Counselor]

@Neal5Zion Proud of you, Zion! Keep working hard! You’ve got greatness in your blood!

[Michelle Williamson @MW_Counselor]

The sky outside @LJSHawks this morning was a 10/10. #WEareLakota