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See which leaders are on the move as summer begins

LeadershipPeople to Watch
By: Matt Zalaznick

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The West Contra Costa Unified School District has picked its next superintendent, Cheryl Cotton, the deputy superintendent of public instruction at the California Department of Education.

Cotton, who becomes the first Black woman to lead the Northern California district, was previously a human resources administrator in Albany USD and the Contra Costa County Office of Education.

Also in California, Kirsten Vital Brulte has been named the lone finalist for superintendent of the Grossmont Union High School District. Brulte led Capistrano USD, Orange County’s largest district, for eight years.

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools in North Carolina promoted Deputy Superintendent Rodney N. Trice to the top spot. Trice returned to the district in 2021 as chief equity and engagement officer after seven years as an assistant superintendent for equity affairs in the Wake County Public School System.

In Texas, the Keller Independent School District made interim superintendent and 20-year employee Cory Wilson the lone finalist to be its next leader. Cedar Hill ISD’s lone finalist is Maria Gamell, who most recently served as chief human resources officer in Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD.

Michigan’s Essexville-Hampton Public Schools installed as its next leader, Davion R. Lewis, an assistant superintendent in Indiana’s South Bend Community School Corporation. Oldham County Schools in Kentucky picked Claudette Herald, an experienced administrator from the Grant County School District, as its new leader.

In the Northeast, Superintendent Christopher Montini is switching Connecticut districts, taking the helm at the Woodbridge School District after leading the Naugatuck Public Schools. The Gilbertsville-Mount Upton Central School District promoted principal Heather Wilcox to superintendent.

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Matt Zalaznick
Matt Zalaznick
Matt Zalaznick is the managing editor of District Administration, covering K-12 public school leadership, teaching and learning, student achievement, education technology, and federal education policy. A journalist since 1996, Zalaznick has reported on politics, law enforcement, and breaking news for newspapers and websites across the U.S. Virgin Islands, the San Francisco Bay Area, Colorado, and the New York City suburbs. He holds a B.A. in English from Tufts University.

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