Principal, Dr. Kaye Williams unveiled her reasons behind enforcement of school policies in the 2022-2023 school year. She  feels that it’s important to develop school culture, safety, and leadership within others. 

 “I’ve always enjoyed leadership roles and it was just a natural progression,” Dr. Williams said. “I got my PhD in Psychology and I didn’t know what I really wanted to do. I was already working as a teacher and a coach in high school. I became an assistant principal and then I enjoyed the challenge of being an assistant principal. I wanted the challenge of having my own campus, having my own school and wanting to grow other people.” 

Interacting with students at school isn’t something that is new to her. However, transitioning to Cinco Ranch High School is harder than most other schools, because the school is much larger than her last campus at Lamar Consolidated High School.

 “I think I enjoyed my first week, ” Dr. Williams said. “I enjoyed meeting students and enjoyed meeting the teachers. Biggest challenges are probably finding where the rooms are and of course you know remembering kids names.”

Dr. Williams says that because she lives in Katy she hears about Cinco Ranch High School all the time. She said she’s excited to be involved in all the great things that happen at Cinco.

Transitioning to a bigger campus, meeting different students, and staff has generated mixed emotions within the student population. Some have gone even as far as creating a Tik Tok video displaying their frustrations with the new principal. However, Dr. Williams remains optimistic that she could rectify them through explanation.

“I appreciate the fact that kids had an opinion about something,” Dr. Williams said. “I always want feedback…When I spoke to the students that created the Tik Tok, one of the things I said was ‘I hear you.’….I think that with the backlash I just want kids to know that they can come and ask me. I’m approachable and …I’ll give them the why behind something. They may not always like or agree with what I have to say, but I think [there is] a way about going about it, like speaking up and using your voice…I think that kids will realize that I like to listen and I like to have dialogue with students and always give them the ‘why’ behind something.”

Change can be embraced in a positive way. Dr. Williams understands that students can acknowledge the change and look at situations optimistically. 

“Sometimes change can be hard,” she said. “We have to be flexible. Nothing is absolute or nothing is the way we planned it, so it’s a really good skill or technique to learn how to be flexible and just go with the flow. Opening up your filter a little bit more and running your points of opinion or concerns and seeing things from another perspective.” 

Students are more likely to thrive and experience academic growth in a structured environment. On the other hand, a disorganized environment can lead to wasted time, lack of growth, and miscommunication between students and staff. 

“Structure is important because it gives consistency,” Dr. Williams said. “No matter what you do in life there’s always a structure to something…Getting structure means order. I know that last year a lot of kids would use the restroom during 3.5 and there would be kids in restrooms vaping, so putting rules and structures in place makes things safer. I can account for people, it’s just having that consistency.”

Safety is important for Cinco’s environment, Dr. Williams said. She believes a safe environment will entice kids to come to school. 

“I think about how [students] feel,” she said. “Do they feel safe walking into the restroom during the school day? I also think about having rules and having consistency because it just gives an order so people know what to expect. For students, they know that this is how it is going to be and they can easily adjust. Everything that you do in life there are rules and expectations. There are protocols you have to follow if you don’t want to get fired. We can get kicked out of university or you can get kicked out of your own home if you don’t follow your parents ‘ rules. You may not like them but you have to understand the why behind them. I like helping you guys prepare for knowing that there are expectations, you need to follow rules, be respectful and be respectful of others.” Dr. Williams said. 

Last year, former principal Mr. Cross introduced a new motto for Cinco: “I am Cinco”.  The idea was the students of Cinco are what gives it meaning. Dr. Williams has the same idea for Cinco pride.