Keith Fickel

Keith Fickel is a retired middle school and high school principal from the southwest Houston, Texas, area and the co-author of Cultivate and Activate: Building Teacher Capacity for Instructional Leadership (Solution Tree) with Justin Baeder. During roughly a decade as a principal, he focused on ensuring high levels of student learning, achievement, and personal development in every classroom by intentionally empowering teachers and staff to lead both their classrooms and the broader school community. His work on teacher leadership emphasizes distributed instructional leadership and building strong, trust-based relationships within the school community.

Fickel was named Fort Bend ISD Secondary Principal of the Year in 2022 and served as the founding principal of the district’s newest high school in 2023 prior to his retirement. He holds both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in music education from Texas Tech University and completed his principal certification at the University of Houston. He resides in Sugar Land, Texas, with his wife, Anne, who is also a music teacher.