neilhowell@pickens.k12.ga.us

Mr. Howell accepted the position of Director of Bands at Dreher High School in Columbia, South Carolina in the Fall of 1991.  His bands earned several superior ratings during his tenure due to the determination and sacrifices of many outstanding student musicians.  In addition to his responsibilities with the band classes, Mr. Howell taught business education, Apple computer software applications, personal computer software applications (DOS based - Pre-Windows), and personal computer repair and assembly.

After two years at Dreher High School, Mr. Howell was offered a band director position at Heritage High School, in Conyers, GA, where he would serve for the next thirteen (13) years of his educational career.  During his tenure, he established himself as an adjudicator, clinician, and guest conductor throughout the Southeastern United States.  Mr. Howell is a Certified Adjudicator for the State of Georgia through the Georgia Music Educators Association. Mr. Howell instructed the Symphonic Band, Concert I Band, Concert II Band, Marching Band and Jazz Band. Under Howell’s leadership and direction, the band program  continued to flourish and head in new directions and his bands won numerous Grand Championships at band contests throughout the Southeast.  His band was a featured ensemble during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia where they performed in Atlanta for five straight evenings during the games. 

Mr. Howell also served as an Administrative Assistant at Heritage for several years, including service on the Heritage Improvement Team; a team that he founded and chaired.  The "H.I.T." team was charged with the responsibility of maintaining and assessing overall school climate with a primary function of acting as liaison between teachers and administrators. The team served an active role in the school improvement process through educational data collection, analysis, preparation for SACS evaluations, and school-wide analysis of student behavioral policies and procedures.  Mr. Howell continued to work with all aspects of school administration, including actively assisting with daily school administrative tasks, during his final few years of employment at Heritage High School. 

In 1999, after 2 years of a  multi-level application process, Mr. Howell was hired by the FBI and slated to attend the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA to train as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Out of thousands of applications, Mr. Howell was one of five in his applicant group to make the final cut to be hired by the FBI. Upon the FBI’s final offer of employment, Mr. Howell decided to stay in education where he feels his talents would be put to better use and to continue to work with the youth in the public school sector. He recalls this decision as one of the toughest he has ever made and he is very proud to say that he made the correct choice.  Mr. Howell is very pleased to be a part of the Pickens County School System where he has the opportunity to serve the parents, students, and staff at Jasper Middle School.