Dr. Fredrick L. Hickmon

Dr. Fredrick L. Hickmon is a twenty-year educator with a passion for learning. Whether assisting others to learn or engaging in his practice as a life-long learner, it is evident that Dr. Hickmon enjoys the opportunities presented as an educator. During fourteen years as a classroom teacher, he identified students’ attendance and participation as significant factors in student success. In addition, Dr. Hickmon learned indicators that are present when students dropout. Using his experience and education to stop the manifestation of these indicators, Dr. Hickmon became an agent of dropout prevention. 

Dr. Hickmon obtained his Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Southern Mississippi in 1994. Afterwards he completed Masters’ work in History at Mississippi State University in 2005 and earned both a Specialist in Education (2010) and Ph.D. (2017) in Educational Leadership at the University of Mississippi. 

Currently, Dr. Hickmon serves as principal of Mississippi’s only secondary school for Indigenous students, a position he has held for the previous six years. Making significant gains in graduation rates and reduction in dropout rates, he has witnessed an increase in college graduation as well as immediate employment after high school for career-minded students. He attributes this great success to the strong sense of self- determination shared by the students and the application of best practices by staff members. Dr. Hickmon relishes the unique challenges and the wonderful accomplishments he experiences while working with Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians as well as other Native American students.