Several female leaders are taking the helm after another busy week of hiring during which more than a dozen districts chose new superintendents.
Jessica Williams, a graduate and lifelong employee of Colleton County Schools in South Carolina, has been promoted to superintendent of the district after having served as the interim leader. Williams started her career as a music teacher and has been an assistant principal, principal and district level administrator in Colleton County.
Interim superintendent Angel Turner has been selected as the permanent leader of Evanston/Skokie School District 65 near Chicago. Turner has worked in education for over 20 years and previously served the district as assistant superintendent and director of literacy.
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In Minnesota, Carlondrea Hines has been named superintendent of the St. Louis Park Piublic Schools. Hines is currently the associate superintendent at Eden Prairie Schools and has been an administrator in several districts in the state.
Katrice Cotton, the chief school administration officer for Milwaukee Public Schools, will become the superintendent at the School District of Brown Deer, also in Wisconsin. In Milwaukee, she also served as regional director of schools and a principal. In Texas, Joy Wilson was named the next superintendent of Bonham ISD.
The Manchester Township School District in New Jersey has appointed its first female superintendent, Diane Pedroza, who has been serving as the interim. Pedroza has spent her career in the district, starting as an English teacher in 2000 and later becoming a vice principal, principal and director of curriculum.
In Ohio, Ashley Handrych has been elevated from middle school principal to superintendent of Lakeview Local Schools.
More superintendent moves
Multiple districts in Michigan have picked new leaders in the last week. Kent ISD in Grand Rapids announced that its assistant superintendent of instructional services, Ron Gorman, will become superintendent when current leader Ron Koehler retires on June 30. Prior to joining Kent ISD in 2022, Gorman spent 25 years at Grand Rapids Public Schools.
Forest Hills Public Schools, also in Grand Rapids, has selected Benjamin Kirby as its next superintendent. Kirby has been the superintendent of Lake Orion Community Schools since 2020 and has also been an administrator in the South Lyon and Ionia districts. Matt Hilton, now executive director of elementary education at Ann Arbor Public Schools, will become the next superintendent of Tecumseh Public Schools. Hilton has worked in Ann Arbor since 2005.
Two districts in Colorado also have new leaders. Fremont Re-2 School District has picked William H. Wilson, who is currently the superintendent of the Brush School District RE-2J. Aaron Hoffman is the finalist to take the helm at Widefield School District 3, where he has worked for 30 years.
Finally, in Illinois, Brownstown CUSD #201 has named David Lund as its new superintendent. Lund is now the superintendent of the Selmaville School District in Illinois.
More new hires:
- Michael Barber, Jacksonville City Schools (Alabama)
- Brett Barley, Dixon Unified School District (California)
- Greg Blomgren, Dowagiac Union Schools (Michigan)
- Chris Brooks, Claiborne Parish School District (Louisiana)
- Ronda Hightower, Montgomery County Schools (Georgia)
- Brian Johnson, shared superintendent of Paton-Churdan Community School District/Southeast Valley School District (Iowa)
- Penny Miller-Nelson, Midland Public Schools (Michigan)
- Tharyn Mulberry, Aspen School District (Colorado)
- Jill Southern, Coast Unified School District (California)
