Meet Aleta Williams (she/her), the proud principal of 107th Street Elementary School & STEAM Magnet. We connected to discuss how the support from the Partnership has helped her build strong systems and foster a thriving school culture at 107th. Read more below.

Williams has worked in the Los Angeles Unified School District for 25 years, the last seven have been at 107th Street Elementary & STEAM Magnet, one of 20 in the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools’ network.

At 107th, she started as assistant principal before becoming principal in the 2021-22 school year. Williams believes she is fortunate to be part of Partnership’s smaller network of schools because of the support she receives. In addition to her regular responsibilities, unexpected challenges pop up almost every single day, and it is especially during these times that Williams is grateful.

“I have not been in an organization where I can literally pick up the phone and call a person that is the head of a department, and they can remove a barrier or solve a problem for me until I became part of the Partnership.”

Whether it is needing resources to purchase shampoo for families because of a lice outbreak or providing emergency financial support to school staff facing unexpected events, the Partnership team will do whatever they can to help, Williams said. 

One major component of the Partnership’s work is capacity building. The organization presents principals and assistant principals with best practices, tools, and coaching to develop and implement strong systems with their staff. 

“The support system is pretty unprecedented,” the principal said.

The Partnership’s support reaches every facet of the school, Williams added. They support school attendance efforts; help pay for student activities like cooking club; assign and pay for English and math coaches to support teachers; provide guidance on budgetary decisions; and help staff classrooms by recruiting teachers from across the nation.

“The Partnership is so embedded in who we are as a school culture and how we handle our day-to-day that it is sometimes hard to figure out where we end and where they begin.”