Team Details

Dr. Kirk Rhodes served as a Tactical Circuit Controller in the United States Army from 1989 to 1997. Before beginning his career at The Gow School, he also worked as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Africana Studies Department at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and as an Account Executive at L.M. Berry & Company in Brentwood, Tennessee. In 2015, Dr. Rhodes earned his Ph.D. in Special Education from Walden University. He researched "Self-Perception as a Predictor of Academic Performance in Adolescents with Learning Disabilities" and earned membership to Walden's Golden Key International Honour Society.

At Gow, Dr. Rhodes teaches Global Studies 1 (Non-Western Civilization) and Advanced Humanities. Also, he coaches the Modified Lacrosse team and advise the Culture Committee. One of his students nominated him for the 2009 Great Teachers: Making a Difference Award presented by WQLN Radio Erie, Pennsylvania and Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Outside of the classroom, Dr. Rhodes has a variety of interests including sociology, psychology, quantum physics, lacrosse, weight lifting, and Star Wars. He has traveled to Spain, Thailand, and the People’s Republic of China, and he has a working knowledge of German and Spanish. Dr. Rhodes is a member of Blazing Star Lodge #694 in East Aurora, Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., Shriners International, and True Bethel Baptist Church in Buffalo, New York.

Mr. Joel Bailey grew up in East Aurora, NY and attended St. John Fisher where he earned a degree in Spanish with a Psychology minor in 2014. While attending St. John Fisher, Mr. Bailey studied abroad in Granada, Spain his junior year, and Buenos Aries, Argentina his senior year. After graduating from college Mr. Bailey joined The Gow School as the modified basketball assistant coach. For the past two years Mr. Bailey worked in Madrid, Spain as a 1^st and 2^nd grade English teacher.

Mr. Bailey is extremely excited to come back to work at The Gow School where he joins his twin brother Mr. Jared Bailey.