Camden math teacher shares what keeps him committed to students, growth

Zahkee Williams teaches fifth-grade math at Camden Promise Charter School, where one teacher’s daily work sits inside a much larger question: how schools keep talented educators committed when praise is easy but staffing, pay and stability remain hard.

Williams is part of a school community that has grown far beyond its beginnings. Camden’s Charter School Network says Camden Promise opened in 1998 with 100 sixth-grade students and has expanded to about 2,300 students across four campuses in Camden, New Jersey. School-profile listings put enrollment at roughly 2,440 students in grades PK-12, with a student-teacher ratio near 12:1, in a student body described as largely economically disadvantaged.

His presence also carries weight in a profession that still does not reflect the students it serves. Pew Research Center says 77% of U.S. public school teachers are women and 23% are men. National Center for Education Statistics data show 80% of public school elementary and secondary teachers identified as non-Hispanic White in 2020-21, while Black men made up about 1.3% of public school teachers. Williams is part of that small group, and that representation can matter in classrooms where students benefit from seeing adults who look like them leading academic spaces.

The timing of his story lands during Teacher Appreciation Week, which was observed nationally from May 4-8, 2026, with National Teacher Day on May 5 and National Black Teachers Day on May 7. The observance traces back to an unofficial National Teacher Day in 1953 after advocacy from Eleanor Roosevelt, became congressionally recognized in 1980, and expanded into a week in May in 1984 through the National PTA. This year, the National Education Association said it was using the week to “turn appreciation into action” and to highlight educators’ impact on students, families and communities.

That message comes as the national teacher workforce remains under strain. The NEA says the United States has about 3.8 million public school teachers, and a 2025 Learning Policy Institute scan found that about 1 in 8 teaching positions nationwide were either unfilled or staffed by someone not fully certified for the role. In that context, Williams’ classroom is more than a single story of dedication. It is a reminder that retaining teachers is a public policy challenge, and that students pay the price when schools cannot keep experienced educators in place.