Willie Fort

Get your education and get as much of it as you can. Education opens up doors. You get one shot at it, grade by grade.

Willie Fort

My name is Willie Fort. I was born December 30th, 1950. I grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. I was named after my grandmother. I have one brother who is six years older than me. He served in the military for 13 years. My father operated a printing press; he was called a bindery operator. My mother was a high school teacher. She taught social studies, US history, and English.

My aunt is still alive and lives in Nashville. She was also a school teacher for many years. When she retired she came to teach at my elementary school. I go visit her every year in Nashville.

I attended Catholic schools throughout my education. My elementary and middle schools were all-black schools. When I went to high school it was an integrated school. I went to school in the south in the 1950s and 1960s and was directly impacted by segregation. In 1964 there was a law passed that said segregated schools were illegal. So by 8th grade we had integrated schools. Even though the law changed, some people were determined not to change their attitudes or thoughts.

I was a good student in school. I was in what they call an A-class. My brother inspired me to start playing basketball in fourth grade. In 8th grade the coach chose me to be captain of our basketball team. I played basketball on an all-metro basketball team.

I went to Bradley University my freshman year in college. I played on the basketball team there for a semester. I was the second leading scorer on the team. I had a 17.7 point average. I had to quit basketball because I had signed up for too much at one time.

After a semester, I transferred to Mankato State University. I played basketball there for two years. I graduated from college and moved back to Tennessee to teach elementary physical education for four years.

I went back to Mankato State after that to work on my graduate degree. I have a Master’s degree in vocational rehabilitation counseling. After teaching I had some odd jobs before pursuing my administrative degree.

I wanted to be a teacher so I could impact the lives of students. Being a principal allows me to impact a greater number of students every day. One lesson I have learned is every student is important and your relationships with them are as well. How you impact them is important because it might make a difference in their lives.