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Jana Williams Named a National College Attainment Network Fellow
August 15, 2022
College and Career Readiness (CCR) Manager Jana Williams will participate as one of fifteen in The National College Attainment Network’s (NCAN) Fellowship Program. This exciting professional development opportunity will allow Mrs. Williams to continue building her skills and knowledge to become a leader in the college and career readiness field.
As the CCR Manager, Mrs. Williams supports a college and career-focused culture amongst scholars and ensures graduates are ready for post-secondary success. Last school year, Mrs. Williams implemented the first district-wide college fair for seniors, created a collegiate partnership council with colleges/universities and community colleges in Mississippi, and organized a college fair specifically for juniors and seniors ranked in the top 25% of their class, all while working daily with CCR teachers, graduation coaches, and counselors.
Mrs. Williams served previously as graduation coach and teacher at Murrah High School. During her tenure at Murrah, Mrs. Williams was named the 2016-2017 Mustang of the Year and worked to ensure the graduation rate was above the state average, with the highest record being 91% for 2021. Prior to working at Murrah, Mrs. Williams served as a compliance monitor in JPS Office of State and Federal Programs.
Mrs. Williams is a proud Jacksonian who graduated from Forest Hill and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics with an emphasis in accounting from Tougaloo College. Additionally, she earned a Master of Business Administration, Master of Public Accountancy, and a Master of Arts in teaching from Jackson State University. She also received a specialist in educational leadership from the University of Mississippi. Mrs. Williams is married to Rashad Williams, and they are the proud parents of Gabriel and Madelyn.
The fellowship will run from August 2022 through September 2023. Each fellow will receive monthly professional development, individual coaching, training, and/or group meetings with other fellows. In addition, the fellows' school districts and charter networks will be provided NCAN membership for two years. The program will focus on building the fellows’ content knowledge, skills, and leadership abilities in three primary areas: 1) delivering an effective student support model and activities to develop student college and career readiness; 2) tracking and analyzing data to use effective decision-making that drives practice, and 3) developing an efficient administrative model for managing college and career readiness work. Fifteen fellows were selected from a diverse set of school districts and charter networks to represent 11 different states throughout the United States in the fellowship.