Leadership

• The school board members are elected by the public and decide amongst themselves who should take on the roles of chair, vice chair, clerk and treasurer. 
• The school board sets the vision of the District, supervises the superintendent and approves District policies and other business items drafted or proposed by the District administration. 
• During the school year, there are high school student representatives who participate in school board meetings to provide student voice and perspectives. 
• Members of the community have the opportunity to speak to the school board during public comment, which is typically held every other meeting.

• The superintendent is ultimately responsible for the running of the District. 
• The superintendent is hired and evaluated by the school board. 
• The superintendent represents the District’s interests in collaborations with regional and state-wide organizations and other partnerships.
• The superintendent supervises building principals and is the cabinet-level leader overseeing the departments of Marketing & Communications and Facilities. 

The cabinet includes the assistant superintendent and four executive directors. 

• Bondo Nyembwe is the Assistant Superintendent and oversees the following departments/programs: Nutrition Services and Special Education.
• Rachel Gens is the Executive Director of Teaching & Learning and oversees the following departments/programs: Teaching & Learning and Technology. 
• Christina Haddad Gonzalez is the Executive Director of Student Services and oversees the following departments/programs: Transportation, Safe Routes to School, Health Services and Student Support Services.
• Craig Holje is Executive Director of Administrative Services and oversees the following departments/programs: Activities, Community Education, Finance and Human Resources. 
• Dr. Kasya Willhite is the Executive Director of Special Programs and oversees the following departments/programs: Multilingual Learning, Richfield College Experience Program (RCEP) and Extended Learning. 

• Directors, managers and supervisors manage many of the day-to-day functions and long-term initiatives of the District.
• The directors are:
  • The director of activities
  • The director of community education
  • The director of finance
  • The director of human resources
  • The director of marketing & communications
  • The director of nutrition services
  • The director of special education
  • The director of technology
• The managers and supervisors are:
  • The facilities manager
  • The finance manager
  • The health services supervisor
  • The human resources manager
  • The payroll manager
  • The student information systems supervisor
  • The transportation supervisor

• Principals are responsible for managing individual schools. 
• The principals are:
  • The Richfield High School Principal
  • The Richfield Middle School Principal
  • The Centennial Elementary School Principal
  • The Richfield Dual Language School (RDLS) Principal
  • The Richfield STEM Elementary School Principal
  • The Sheridan Hills Elementary School Principal
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• Richfield High School and Richfield Middle School each have two assistant principals. 

• Teachers are responsible for the successful education of their students. 
• Teachers are the first point of contact for parents/guardians. 
• Some other staff members such as instructional coaches, school counselors, social workers and school nurses have similar expectations to teachers.

• Support staff members include: program coordinators, administrative assistants, paraprofessionals, kitchen staff, outreach workers, bus drivers, athletic coaches, building cleaners, warehouse staff, grounds crew, substitute teachers and more.

• The RPS community includes staff, parents/guardians, students and residents of Richfield. 
• The community decides through voting who is elected to the school board and the level of local tax revenue that is allocated to the District. 
• Community members can volunteer to serve on Advisory Councils or Committees, which provide input into decisions made by the school board, superintendent, cabinet members and/or directors. Advisory councils or committees are not decision-making bodies, but support the District administration with recommendations.
• Community members can participate in school-based Parent-Teacher Organizations (PTOs) and other parent advisory groups to provide community input into decisions made by principals and help build positive school communities.