OCS Teacher Feature

Katelyn Williams, the physical education teacher at Meadow Elementary School, said her story as an educator began as a kindergarten student here in Onslow County, when she developed formative relationships with her earliest teachers.  

Mrs. Williams attended Jacksonville High School, where she had the honor of being a Teacher Cadet – a course designed to provide students with hands-on experience in the field prior to college. She later graduated from East Carolina University with a degree in Physical Education, and went on to earn her master’s degree in 2023. She has experience coaching and teaching in middle school before transitioning to the elementary setting.

In this Teacher Feature, Mrs. Williams highlights the positive and lasting impact that quality teachers have on student achievement while emphasizing that public education remains an integral part of our community’s identity. 

 

What inspired you to become a teacher, and what keeps you motivated to remain in the field?

Mrs. Williams keenly recollects the halls of her elementary school and the familiar smell of her kindergarten classroom. She recalls playing school on her porch, breaking her arm the summer following kindergarten, and receiving a letter from her teachers, assuring her they were thinking of her. An athlete throughout her school years, Mrs. Williams eventually chose to teach physical education rather than mathematics, which she had previously considered. As she reflects, she weaves the names of previous teachers into her story, as if they are milestones on her path to becoming an educator.

…

“What keeps me in the field—I have fun every single day that I walk into school. It doesn't mean that I don’t have challenges; it doesn't mean that I don’t have to work with my teammates to overcome things, but I have fun every day. I am supported one hundred percent by every administrator that I have ever had.”

Smiling, Mrs. Williams continues to recall various memories of principals saying “yes” to her, at times unconventional, ideas for student engagement. She adds, “I love what I do. I love to play. It’s so much more than games and equipment. I know that what I am doing is helping students to be successful when they’re grown-ups.”

Mrs. Williams shares the concept of physical literacy and how it can bolster student success as they pursue their passions later in life.

“It means the basic skills that I can teach kids are going to help them become confident and successful when they try new physical things in the future.”

As an example, she notes that while she may not have had a direct influence on previous students’ decisions to join the military, she did, in fact, “have a small part in helping them to feel confident when going into those physical situations.”

 

In what ways do public schools create opportunities that prepare students for after high school?

“I think we do a phenomenal job of getting students ready for what happens after high school. We are graduating kids from high school; that’s amazing.”

Mrs. Williams proudly comments on Onslow County Schools’ ambitious goal to surpass the state’s targeted graduation rate. Her confidence in the district’s capacity to equip and empower students for their aspired pathways underscores the investment that many public school educators make in the leaders we are nurturing, demonstrating how deeply we value each student’s rise to excellence as shared progress.

Mrs. Williams goes on to commend the work of the Eastern North Carolina Skills Center, which provides rigorous opportunities in Career and Tech Education (CTE) for students. A direct supporter of the Skills Center, she has even led a schoolwide food order from the culinary program’s pop-up kitchen, Kitchen 261.

Reflecting on personal college debt, Mrs. Williams states, “To think that we can send a student across the stage and they can then enter the workforce with zero school debt because they are already certified—that’s tremendous. Our partnership with the Early College and students being dually enrolled at our community college is another amazing opportunity. Southwest High School opened its Marine Corps ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) program this year. That is awesome, as military-connected as our area is—to have that available to our students—is an amazing opportunity.”

What is a success story from your classroom or school that makes you proud?

“When I am out in town and a former student recognizes me… I am teaching the children of former students now. I am working with former students now. Those full circle moments—that makes me so proud. That’s a success story!”

She  also shares that seeing former students out in the community, contributing to society in the way they have chosen to do so, is rewarding and motivating.

Mrs. Williams also emphasizes her school’s success in meeting growth last year and exceeding growth the year before in state testing data. As the P.E. teacher, she readily acknowledges her contribution to those accomplishments.

“I love incorporating literacy instruction into physical education. With younger students, letter identification and letter sounds. I enjoy incorporating read-alouds. I have a word champions door, where anytime that we go over any vocabulary that’s related to my class, or I can connect it to another class, it goes up on the door just so students can see those words.”

Mrs. Williams has even presented on literacy in P.E. at a state conference, remarking, “We want to create well-rounded kids.”

 

What message would you share with someone about the importance of teachers and teaching today?

“We are the ladder for these young people that are coming into our classrooms, and whether or not a student’s ladder takes them to college, the workforce, or service in the armed forces, we are part of their ladder. We are part of wherever they want to go, not where we determine.”

Mrs. Williams points out that the profession offers many entryways, and regardless of where one begins, there are abundant opportunities to grow and continue advancing toward career aspirations. She mentions the district’s dedication to increasing internal capacity. “You don’t come and just stay where you are.”

 

What do you want your students to remember most about you?

Mrs. Williams, speaking with great reverence in her voice, recounts a quote on a tin plate that has accompanied her throughout her educational journey in OCS: “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would have not a single bit of talent left and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.’”

“I hope my students know that I love them, and that I have no talent left because I gave it to them.”                                                                      

For Mrs. Williams, like many educators in our district, teaching is more than a job; it is a calling to give and to serve students well beyond their time in the classroom. Education is a collective effort to prepare our students for the future while enjoying the magic of the present; each role in the public education system contributes to the betterment of our students. Recently, the North Carolina Department of Education, led by Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green, released its strategic plan for achieving educational excellence in local public schools. The plan includes celebrating public schools, uplifting teachers, and galvanizing support so that all students may lead the lives they dream of. Similarly, Dr. Christopher Barnes, the Superintendent of Onslow County Schools, often reminds us that teaching is a noble profession and is the cornerstone of our community.

The true testament to Onslow County Schools’ staying power lies in its ability to cultivate student leaders who walk across the high school stage and into a classroom as educators, where they strengthen the continuity of our community’s vitality, innovation, and investment in unlocking student potential.

Mrs. Williams concludes her interview with a message to students considering a return to Onslow County for a career in education: “We need you. Your future students need to see someone who is from here, who cares deeply about the kids growing up where they did.”