Hagerman Municipal Schools Superintendent Ricky Williams has been named Superintendent of the Year for his outstanding leadership of the New Mexico School Superintendents’ Association, serving all school districts fairly and with integrity, showing high respect across the state, and presenting facts with passion to legislative committees on behalf of all school districts.
Williams has served the students, staff and community of Hagerman since July 2013 after serving for the previous three years as director of secondary instruction for the Las Cruces Public Schools. Prior to working in Las Cruces, the 27-year veteran held the following positions: principal, Loving High School; director of special education and principal, Carlsbad Middle and High Alternative Program; middle school assistant principal; high school assistant principal; director of student services New Mexico State University-Carlsbad; high school counselor; secondary gifted facilitator; and elementary special education teacher.
Before moving to New Mexico in 1995, Williams worked for Odessa High School in Odessa, Texas, as a high school special education teacher and football coach. Williams holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas, a Master of Arts in School Counseling from the University of Texas-Permian Basin in Odessa, and a Master of Science in School Administration from the College of Southwest. He has completed post-master’s hours in administration and school psychology from New Mexico State University-Las Cruces.
Currently, Williams serves as past president for the New Mexico School Superintendents’ Association (2017-18). He was appointed to the South Central Comprehensive Center (SC3) Regional Advisory Board by Secretary of Education Hanna Skandera, approved by Gov. Susana Martinez, to represent the State of New Mexico.
His public service goes beyond education, as he has dedicated eight-and-a-half years as a police officer and county attorney investigator in Odessa, which provided lessons in leadership he has applied to 27 years in public education service. Williams is married to Clorinda, a career educator.
As a superintendent, Williams is dedicated to the development and implementation of strategic plans for school turnaround efforts that lead to improved student academic achievement and that will ensure every student is given the opportunity to succeed in college and a career of their choice. The NMSSA congratulates Ricky Williams as their Superintendent of the Year.
