Weldon B. Williams III, Ed.D. is Broad Ripple Magnet High School's new principal. He recently described how he choose a career in education.

"I was involved in music all my life and I was part of a public school program for quite some time. It was my experience in school music programs and my interest also in working at a high school educational level and college choir that got me interested in teaching. I went to college at Florida A&M and majored in choral music education. After I graduated, I started teaching. Initially, I was going to take a year off to practice for an audition to go to Juilliard for piano performance (he also plays the saxophone) and got my first teaching position instead. I decided to go into the classroom and started teaching," he explained.

Teaching was the prelude of furthering his educational pursuits. "I knew that I wanted to go into the principalship at BRMHS. If I was a principal, I wanted to do that in an arts environment. I visited Indianapolis a few years ago and wanted to look at it as an option. I asked people what it was like to live and work in Indianapolis. Back in February, a principal position was posted at BRMHS. I decided to apply and was offered an interview opportunity. I like the direction that the Superintendent (Dr. Louis Ferrebee) is going. He's a visionary figure and a dynamic fit for Indianapolis. After talking with him and Greg Newlin, an academic improvement advisor for the magnet learning community, I became convinced that this district is progressive and wants great things to happen," Dr. Williams added.

His education and music credentials expanded their academic scope. "I have a mix of backgrounds. I was an assistant band director for two years in Savannah, Georgia. After that, I was choral director and band director on a voluntary basis. It was good experience. After my first teaching stint, I got a full scholarship to Northern Illinois University to study for a master's degree in music. After taking most of the coursework, I missed teaching students. During the year, I was a choral music director at Mitchell High School in Memphis. It was a development program where I also served as assistant coordinator for the West Tennessee Vocal Music Association with Dr. Marilyn Campbell Melvin, the coordinator for that event. The kids did well. After budget cutbacks, my school at the time was eighth grade through 12th grade. I returned to Atlanta and worked as a high school choral director in a traditional arts and school environment. I decided that I wanted to go into administration. During 2005 and 2006, I had this sudden epiphany. The Education Department of Georgia started talks of changing school administrators to become licensed. Since I had an aspiration to become a principal, I decided to take the leadership exam and passed it. In 2007, I enrolled in Georgia State University to pursue a Specialist in Education degree. During this time, I lived in Atlanta and drove two to three hours per week commuting to class. I got an Ed Spec. degree at Columbus State and knew I wanted to get into a terminal degree program. I got accepted into Georgia Southern University and started there in January of 2009 for the doctorate of education administration," he said.

"When I did my doctorate as a high school music educator, there are a whole lot of nuances that are a natural phenomenon of the job that are unique to being a secondary music school education as in math or science, but in music education, it's more of an organizational leadership role, just as strong as the organizational role. You deal with budgets, fund raising, parent engagement involvement and managing groups of parents. There's a whole community dynamic there. One of facets of BRMHS is an arts culture. There's tons of research involved that students in a rigorous arts and music education have a strong tendency to do well in a cross content area. Arts, music and dance are academic subjects like math, science and social studies. Each area bears a significance in the way that they're taught if they're taught well," Dr. Williams noted.

Some objectives in his first year as principal include: development for enhancing community partnerships, establishing a foundation and giving campaign, improving enrollment and recruitment practices, enhancing instruction practices and making significant gains in student achievement.

He reflected on the rewarding aspects of his career so far. "I would have to say that making music with students, student growth and their personal maturity through being a part of the public school programs has been rewarding. I emphasize public school programs, accessing college opportunities as a result of being the arts and music programs and just seeing the students becoming great people."

Dr. Weldon B. Williams III brings a unique blend in music education and teaching to Broad Ripple Magnet High School as he leads its faculty, staff and students into a new era.