In this episode, we caught up with Desmond Williams, who is the founder of Nylinka School Solutions, an organization that specializes in providing professional development and consulting services that will help educators and school districts increase their level of engagement and investment of boys of color.  During our conversation, we touched on a myriad of topics: his personal journey into education, the founding of Nylinka, the making of his upcoming book, "The Burning House: Educating Black Boys in Modern America", and much more!  To learn more about Desmond and to support his work, you can visit the Nylinka website at www.nylinka.org or connect with him on the following social media platforms:  

FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER - @nylinka                LINKEDIN - Desmond Williams

BIO: 

Desmond Williams is a career teacher, principal, author and thought leader. He is driven to help all children live their dreams. Desmond had two dream growing up: He wanted to design Transformers and be a sitcom writer. After having many teachers tell him those dreams were silly, he decided he wanted to teach because he knew children deserved better. He has spent his entire professional career working with youth serving as a special educator, classroom teacher, assistant principal and principal. His educational philosophy is simply that education should be used for the process of building and maintaining a nation.  He received his Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Howard University in Washington, DC.  He later received his Master’s degree in Education and Human Development from George Washington University. He started his teaching career in DCPS as a special educator.  He subsequently moved through the ranks and became a special education coordinator because of his business acumen and understanding of children with special needs.  Soon afterwards Mr. Williams, worked in the Office of Special Education for DC Public Schools.  After leaving DCPS’s Office of Special Education, he ventured into the world of school-based administration. His expertise includes, student engagement, restorative justice practices, relationship building with students, and family engagement. Desmond has spoken at multiple conferences across the country offering his expertise and insight in engaging inner-city students.  He has worked with several independent schools and school districts. His focus is on educating boys of color.  “They are the most marginalized and are in need of the most help.  “Teachers that serve them, tend to be the teachers that are in need of the most support.”   His other passions include teacher development, leadership development, special education and engaging boys of color in learning. In 2015, he launched the #SOBTC Twitter chat that united teachers, educators, parents and practitioners from across the country together to discuss issues related to educating boys of color. #SOBTC, Send Our Boys To College started because he wanted those invested in the growth of Black boys to have a platform to discuss challenges and celebrate successes. His first book “The Burning House: Educating Black Boys in Modern America” will be released in early 2020.