Diane Crawley Willis: Leading, Empowering and Inspiring

Most of us have a teacher, administrator or school staff person we remember fondly. These people challenged us to work hard, encouraged us when we were down and inspired us to dream big and never stop learning. To many, Diane Crawley Willis is that person.  
Diane has been an integral part of the Newport News School Division team for 32 years. She started her journey as an elementary school teacher and then became an Assistant Principal. For the past 18 years, Diane has been a Principal at five outstanding school programs. She is currently the Principal at Carver Elementary School, but her heart belongs to every Newport News student, regardless of their school. When you speak to Diane, she tells you how proud she is to have served families from one end of our amazing city to the next.  
You can say that Diane’s passion for education comes naturally. Both of her parents were educators; her father was a music teacher, band director and principal and her mother was a teacher and librarian. When discussing what inspired her to become an educator, Diane says, “Throughout my formative years, I looked fondly upon so many strong and amazing women educators. They influenced my interest in joining their ranks.”
Diane holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Virginia State University and a Master’s Degree in Education from The George Washington University. She also shares her talents with the community as a member of the Gamma Upsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and a part of The Ivy Foundation of Hampton, Inc.
Women’s History Month ends today and we hope you have enjoyed learning more about the dynamic women making history in Newport News. We purposefully chose to end with Diane, a talented educator, because not only is she a woman making history, she’s inspiring tomorrow’s leaders. She gives young people the knowledge and confidence they need to chase their wildest dreams. While we could continue to highlight Diane’s incredible accomplishments, instead we will end with her own personal reflection, which she wrote specifically for this newsletter. Thank you to all of the women making history in our great city!
I never guessed I would be a principal and on such an amazing journey with so many talented and wonderful thinkers. Now that I look back over the 32 years I have so far in education, all of which have been in Newport News Public Schools, I know what it is like to build something lasting that is a part of a foundation for years to come.     
I do not work alone. I always seek to stand with as many stakeholders as possible in order to accomplish great things for students and families.  I feel strength in numbers and so I tend to work to build collective efficacy no matter the school, the need or the plan for progress. The continued passion, tireless commitment to excellence, and continued quest for change is never a solo journey. 
As a leader in our school district, I look to continue to offer my perspective and insight just as so many did for me. I see learning opportunity in every circumstance and believe in committing fully to academic excellence by guaranteeing students are provided with the appropriate access to curriculum, high quality instruction, assessment, feedback and supports they need to meet our rigorous achievement standards.
I am most proud of my chance to learn from so many wonderful women leaders in their roles and on the job before me – faith-based women, family, college professors, directors, supervisors, principals, friends, and members of my sorority, to name a few. They shared their stories, let me challenge myself, allowed me to reflect, encouraged me, enlightened me, helped me stand tall, dusted me off at times, and most of all gave me power in hope.