Romeoville principal recognized as champion of Pyramid model of child development

The incoming principal at a Romeoville school has been deemed a champion of the Pyramid model, which promotes social and emotional competence among youths while also addressing challenging behavior.

On April 11, Tionia Williams, the new principal at Dr. James Mitchem Early Childhood Center in Romeoville, learned that she was the 2023 recipient of an award by the Pyramid Model Consortium for work in the classroom as a teacher.

The Pyramid model is a framework of evidence-based practices for promoting young children’s healthy social and emotional development, according to the website for the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations.

Williams received a reward for being a champion of the model she said teaches children how to self-regulate and how to navigate their emotions.

“The Pyramid model allows us to provide that framework to support children who may have or may be on the verge of challenging behaviors,” Williams said.

Valley View School District 365 operates the early childhood center in Romeoville. Williams said she began working for the district as a teacher’s assistant at Hubert H. Humphrey Middle School before moving on to Dr. James Mitchem Early Childhood Center.

Williams then became a teacher, an assessment team teacher, assistant principal and principal.

Williams said she first decided to go into education when she was working for a group home called Mainstream Living for developmentally challenged youths ages 17 and younger. At the group home, staff would teach the children and teens skills such as cooking and cleaning.

Williams said it was her interaction with the youths at the group home that guided her into wanting to pursue a career in education.

“They were just like everybody else. They just had special needs and special qualities that they needed help in order to be successful in life and in the classroom. That’s what really guided me along the way,” Williams said.

Williams said she was one of the first teachers at the early childhood center to provide an inclusive classroom environment.

One of the challenges Williams said educators at the school face is making sure they have enough staff members to provide a high-quality environment. She said there is a shortage in the field of early childhood education.

“It’s been a challenge to keep staff and trying to find staff because it’s not an easy field to go into,” Williams said.

Nevertheless, the staff there provides a nurturing environment for the children and also engages in what they call play-based learning.

“Children learn through play, and it’s not just they’re playing, but they are learning while they are playing,” Williams said.

As the school’s new principal, Williams said she knows she cannot do the job by herself, and she makes sure to provide her staff accolades because they are in the field performing the “heavy lifting.”

“I would say that early childhood is a collaborative piece, and you can’t do it by yourself. It takes a team of professionals and a team of people in order to get the work done,” Williams said.