Leadership

Russ Williams

President & CEO

Russ E. Williams, Jr. was appointed President and CEO of Center City Public Charter Schools in April 2013, after serving in leadership and teaching roles in Washington, DC charter schools for more than 15 years. Center City has achieved significant growth during his tenure. Center City’s improvement in achievement in the two years since PARCC was first administered in 2015 is the largest of any multi-campus LEA in the city. In addition, Center City serves more than 1,000 students who are classified as either Special Education, English Language Learners, or At-Risk, and each of these populations outperformed their peers across the city on the PARCC in the spring of 2017.

Prior to joining Center City PCS, Mr. Williams was the co-founder and Executive Director of AppleTree Early Learning Public Charter School, where he was responsible for growing the school from one site with 36 students to seven sites serving more than 600 students. He led the school through rapid transformational growth while closing the achievement gap and driving strong outcomes for students. Mr. Williams also served in management roles with DC’s AppleTree Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on improving educational options for the children of DC.

Mr. Williams began his charter school career as a teacher at the Washington Math, Science and Technology Public Charter School in 1998. He received his MBA degree from George Washington University.