From Service to Smiles: My Story
By: Lisa Wills
Some people find leadership through a title. I found it through service. Long before I became known to students as The Molar Mentor, I was already meeting people where they were, seeing what they needed, and trying to create a way forward.
I am a fourth-grade math teacher at Victory College Prep, an author, a teacher leader, and the founder of The Molar Movement. I have written several books, including three children’s books: A Teacher’s Love, Wild Hair in the Air, and The Day Virtual School Began. I also authored a local South Bend Civil Rights history book, A Place With Purpose: Hering House 1925–1963. Whether I am writing, teaching, or mentoring, my work is rooted in one belief: children deserve to be seen, supported, protected, and prepared for the world in front of them.
Before entering the classroom, I served for nearly six years as an adult felony probation officer in St. Joseph County in South Bend, Indiana. I worked with adults who were trying to rebuild their lives, many without the education or opportunities they needed to be successful. When I realized that many of the people I served did not have a high school diploma or GED, I decided to do something about it. I developed a GED program inside the county jail and helped more than 100 adult felony probationers earn their GED.
That experience changed the direction of my life. It showed me that teaching was not just something I enjoyed. It was something I was meant to do.
In 2003, I joined Teach For America and moved from South Bend to Atlanta, Georgia, where I began my career as an elementary teacher. Since then, I have taught in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Indianapolis. This fall, I will begin my 24th year in education and my 13th year at Victory College Prep, where I serve as a fourth-grade math teacher and new teacher coordinator.
My leadership style is grounded in love, consistency, high expectations, and action. I believe students learn best when they feel safe, valued, and cared for. I build relationships first, hold students accountable, and work hard to create a classroom where children know they matter. My leadership also extends to adults as I support new teachers while they build confidence, strengthen classroom culture, and learn how to lead with both structure and heart.
In 2023, I completed the MelanatED Leaders program. That experience strengthened my voice as a leader and reminded me how important it is to be surrounded by other educators of color who are committed to serving children and the community. It also affirmed something I already believed: leadership is not just about what we accomplish alone. It is about how we use our stories, our platforms, and our influence to open doors for others.
That belief helped shape The Molar Movement, a program deeply connected to my own life and childhood adversity.
For me, oral health is personal. As a child, I was never taken to the dentist. At 18 years old, I finally made my own dental appointment, but by then the damage had already begun. I lost many of my molars at an early age. That experience stayed with me and shaped the way I think about oral health, access, prevention, and dignity.
I know what it feels like to go without care. I know what can happen when a child does not have access to prevention. I also know that many children grow up without consistent dental care, oral health education, or adults helping them understand what is happening in their mouths.
Instead of allowing that part of my story to remain painful, I decided to turn it into purpose.
Many years ago, The Molar Movement began in the most natural way. I started teaching the children in my own family and community about oral health because I understood the importance of prevention. A few years ago, I brought that same passion into my fourth-grade classroom. Using my own lunch time, I began teaching oral health lessons to students. I also created a structure where individual classes could participate in one oral health lesson each week during recess, turning that time into a hands-on opportunity for learning, leadership, and prevention.
The lessons are purposeful, engaging, practical and hands-on. Students learn about tooth anatomy, the layers of the tooth, how cavities form, how to brush and floss effectively, and how to recognize concerns they may see in their own smiles. The also learn about the functions of the soft tissues inside of their mouth, understand and can identify the different taste buds and explain the function of the uvula.
This year, I reached nearly 100 fourth-grade students through The Molar Movement. As The Molar Mentor, I give students knowledge they can use immediately and carry with them for life. The program is not only about learning dental facts. It is about building language, confidence, ownership, and advocacy.
On April 9, 2026, my students graduated from the program as Junior Molar Mentors. That title matters to me. A Junior Molar Mentor is not simply a student who completed a lesson. A Junior Molar Mentor is a young advocate who is learning how to care for their own smile, speak up about oral health, and share what they know with others.
I want students to understand that prevention is power. I want them to know that their health matters and that their voices can help protect not only their own futures, but the futures of others.
The Molar Movement is more than a dental health program to me. It is a movement rooted in prevention, dignity, education, and advocacy. It is my story transformed into something that can now serve children. It represents what can happen when an educator sees a problem, refuses to ignore it, and begins building a solution with the resources available.
I hope MelanatED Leaders can support me by helping amplify The Molar Movement and connecting me to spaces where I can serve more children. Whether through partnerships, speaking opportunities, school-based programs, community events, or introductions to organizations that care about children’s health, I am ready to grow this work.
The Molar Movement began with my lived experience, grew through my family, my community, and one fourth-grade classroom, and now has the potential to reach far beyond those walls.
My goal is simple, but it is deeply personal: I want children to understand that their smiles matter, their health matters, and they deserve the knowledge, tools, and confidence to advocate for themselves & protect their smiles for life!
About Lisa: Lisa Maria Wills is a veteran educator, child advocate, children’s book author, and health advocate with more than 23 years of experience serving students in urban communities. An award-winning teacher and longtime wellness instructor, Lisa created The Molar Movement from her own experience of losing most of her molars after growing up without access to essential oral health education and preventive care. Today, she transforms that personal adversity into action by teaching children the science of their smiles, the importance of prevention, and how to advocate for their health. Through engaging lessons and leadership opportunities, Lisa equips students to become Molar Mentors who protect their own smiles and share what they learn with their families and communities.