This year, April Williams took on the position of Physical Education Chair, bringing with her a unique perspective on the topic of physical education, as she has seen how negative experiences with P.E. can affect people well into their adulthood. As a school that is very serious and passionate about athletics and physical education, Williams takes on a very important position and is someone all athletes should take the time to get to know.
Williams thinks Hackley is “a really nice place to be as an adult” and she imagines it is for the students as well. She reported that the transition has been smooth and that everyone has been very friendly to her.
Williams began her career as a fitness manager at a gym and saw many adults who did not have a good relationship with exercise and did not know how to take care of their bodies. She discovered that many people have developed this issue after having negative experiences in P.E. classes as children.
During this time, Williams also began working with a program called Easter Seals, which is a physical education program for disabled children. Many of the parents and people she worked with told her she would be a really great candidate to work as a physical educator and she decided to pursue that path.
Williams was offered a position to teach and to do her part in making students’ experience in PE better because she strongly believes in the power of physical education. She worked as the director of co-curricular activities at a charter school in Manhattan for 18 years, which gave her the experience needed to teach at Hackley.
Now at Hackley, Williams is the Head of Physical Education and works with “an amazing team of teachers.” Rather than having the mindset of her managing them, the faculty working in physical education are a team and work together.
Williams spends time on the phone ordering equipment for the PE program, works with scheduling, and does many other tasks to keep the program running smoothly. In addition, she pops into PE classes and assists in teaching. Lastly, Williams is in charge of managing exemptions from sports.
Students report that Ms. Williams is kind and supportive when they are working with her on their requirements and exemptions. For example, junior Jennifer Allan is exempt year-round for figure skating and was met with nothing but kindness.
“She was super nice and made it super easy to organize the forms,” said Jennifer, “She also seemed genuinely interested in my sport.”