Page 15 - The April 30 2026 Edition of The Fayetteville Press Newspaper

The Fayetteville Press March 27, 2026 Edition 5b

Vernesha Williams

“I was like, this is a rock star in our building who I’ve not heard of, and
Continue From Page 4b now I’m seeing it for myself,” Brailov said. She wanted Williams to work at her
-Benjamin’s Srr see father. But to look inside William’s classroom is to school because she only wanted the best of the best — and now, she can’t
see a room full of kids who actually feel good about themselves and want See imagine what kindergarten at Compass would look like without her. “I don’t
page 5 to learn, he said. think she realizes how much she has established as what we think is best
Williams knows how important it is to fortify children’s emotional wellbeing practice for kindergarten … our standards are as high as they can be because
at a young age. She started teaching at the fifth grade level. She saw that her she’s on our team,” Brailov said. Williams has a way of making everything
students needed guidance to regulate their emotions and how they interacted special for her students — from going all-out for every holiday to setting up
with others, and they weren’t getting that from the basic curriculum she had “gallery walks” where the kids can compliment each other’s art work and
been instructed to give them. assignments.
As a kindergarten teacher now in charge of 23 students, Williams feels Teaching isn’t for everyone, Brailov said — it requires filling multiple
that she has the chance, and the responsibility, to teach kids those crucial life roles, from acting as a social worker to being a guidance counselor, and it
skills early — and to empower them to speak up for themselves. She wants her requires a long-term vision of what kind of impact your classroom will have on
students to know that they should be celebrated, and even if they aren’t doing someone years down the line. Williams is someone who clearly sees teaching
their best, that they should be given tools to grow. as an investment in that child’s future, and who knows how important it is to
“I want my kids to be able to communicate for themselves, to think about set a positive foundation for learning at a young age, she said.
how others are feeling,” she said. “I want to fill their bank with positivity … “She knows from teaching fifth grade what it can look like five years
they are mirrors right now. They take in everything and they just regurgitate it.” later, for someone who’s not invested or who doesn’t see school as a place
At this young age, what adults say is what kids internalize — and teach- they belong,” Brailov said. “Her and I talk about that all the time. ‘Can you
ers are uniquely positioned to be the first trusted adult in a child’s life outside imagine, if we had these kinds in kindergarten, what we could have done
of their immediate family, Williams said. Teachers want to be respected, but differently?’ She really holds onto that, that she is that person now.”
they have to respect their students first, she said. Otherwise, students are Photography By:Chrisman Studios Despite her natural ability in the classroom, Williams didn’t always want
being set up to disengage at school. Vernesha Williams with her student, Benjamin Buckley-Green to be a teacher. When she was younger, she thought about being a lawyer, or
“I feel like I changed how he viewed himself,” Williams said, reflecting on Compass Collegiate Academy * Charleston, South Carolina choosing a job that would provide her with more income. But she didn’t feel
her time as a teacher with Benjamin. “If he would have held onto that old any passion to pursue a career just for money — and her mom had been a
feeling, I’m sure he would not have been as motivated to be as creative.” teacher all her life. So she brought her laptop to a college basketball game and
"If we want society or even the world to go in a different direction, we in Orangeburg threatened her teaching license after she resigned. applied to Teach for America. As soon as she started teaching, she knew she
have to start with our kids." Although South Carolina is an at-will state, meaning employees was on the path to fulfill a greater purpose.
Vernesha Williams can quit at any time, the rules for teachers are more complicated — “If we want society or even the world to go in a different direction, we
Williams took a leap of faith when she joined Compass Collegiate Acad- and school boards can suspend teachers for leaving their jobs have to start with our kids,” she said. “We assume that they don’t know a lot
emy. She had been offered a job there previously, but when her old colleague before the end of their yearly contracts. or can’t handle a lot, but they absolutely can. When they are respected and
Rachel Brailov called her a second time in August 2021 to ask if she would join Those external challenges made the transition difficult, but given the ability to be trusted, you will see kids go above and beyond. You will
the up-and-coming school, it felt like the right choice. She was excited to teach within Compass, Williams felt welcomed and supported from the be so surprised. They show you exactly how successful they are willing to be
kindergarten and to join a new school just before it opened. beginning. She’s known Brailov, the Dean of Academics at Com- at a young age.”
She packed up and moved from Columbia, South Carolina to Charleston pass Collegiate Academy, since her first year of teaching at Vernesha Williams is a 2014 graduate of Pine Forest High School
within days of accepting the job. Within days, she found an apartment for her Mellichamp Elementary School. Williams caught Brailov’s eye as and futher her education at NC A&T Universitty in 2018 and the daughter of
and her dog. That first year was really tough, she said, because her last school an innovative and passionate teacher. Vincent & Vernadine Williams of Fayetteville NC

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