- Rickards High
- Dr. Joe Williams, IB Program Coordinator
Administration
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- Mr. Douglas Cook, Principal
- Dr. Deborah Barnes, Assistant Principal Curriculum
- Mr. Sam Striplin, Assistant Principal Administration/Discipline
- Mr. Chris Cowart, Assistant Principal of Facilities/Attendance
- Dr. Joe Williams, IB Program Coordinator
- Mrs. E. Melissa Cooper, AP Coordinator/Assistant IB Coordinator
- Mr. Roosevelt Sea, Dean of Students
- Deputy John Summers, School Resource Officer
Phone: 850-414-5500 Ext.: 5036
Email:
Degrees and Certifications:
Bachelor of Arts: Anthropology, Florida State University Master of Music: Jazz Performance, University of New Orleans Doctor of Philosophy: Ethnomusicology, University of Maryland Florida Teaching Certifications: Music K-12, Humanities K-12, Social Studies 6-12
Dr. Joe Williams
Welcome to James S. Rickards High School, IB World School # 000881.
I have been teaching at James S. Rickards High School since August of 2007, and I became IB Coordinator in May of 2010. During my time at Rickards, I have taught IB Music, AP Music Theory, IB and AP History, IB Philosophy, and IB Theory of Knowledge. I began my teaching career at the University of Maryland in College Park as a Graduate Teaching Assistant and a Lecturer while I was working toward my Ph.D. My dissertation, Transmitting the Balafon in Mande Culture: Performing Africa at Home and Abroad (https://drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/3527), is based on fieldwork I conducted in the West African nation of Guinea and in the Northeastern United States. I bring with me to James S. Rickards High School a love of learning and an international mindset that all students should be lifelong learners who are open to receiving knowledge from multiple perspectives and cultures. I am very proud of our diverse student body of outstanding young scholars and our accomplished IB faculty. I hope to inculcate in our students both a passion for learning and a desire to be responsible citizens and environmental stewards who use their talents and skills to give back to their communities through volunteer service.