(Oakland) Riverside Community School District has selected Dr. Stephanie Anderson, Director of Elementary Education and Student Services, Fort Dodge Community, to assume the position of Riverside Community School District Superintendent starting on July 1, 2023.
Current Superintendent Dr. Timothy Mitchell said they had 16 very qualified applicants based off of a profile they created from an online survey of their patrons. The board spent time looking at 10 individuals, they selected six semifinalists that they interviewed via zoom and then brought to the Stakeholder Committees on Wednesday two people; Dr. Stephanie Anderson and Casey Moran, Assistant Director of Special Education for the Council Bluffs Community School District. The Board and three different constituent groups went through interviews Wednesday and then after the board deliberated Wednesday night they decided to offer a contract to Dr. Stephanie Anderson.
Dr. Timothy Mitchell announced his retirement in January and will be leaving the district at the end of the 2022-2023 school year.
A contract will be offered for Dr. Stephanie Anderson on April 17th, the next school board meeting.
Dr. Anderson is excited about this new opportunity and shared “I am honored and excited to have been chosen to be the next leader of the Riverside Community School District. The community cohesiveness, academic and extracurricular celebrations, and amazing people were the highlights from my research and interview experience. I look forward to continuing the great work you are already engaging in as a community and school district.”
Dr. Stephanie Anderson brings a variety of educational experiences to the superintendent position. She grew up on a farm outside of Newell, Iowa, graduating from Newell-Fonda High School and earning her BA from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. She started her teaching career as an elementary classroom teacher in Vermillion, South Dakota and then in Storm Lake, Iowa while earning her MA from the University of South Dakota. She attended the Iowa Principal Leadership Academy to earn her administrative endorsement, which led to her serving as the assistant elementary principal and early childhood principal in Spencer, Iowa. She then served as the head elementary principal in Fort Dodge, Iowa while earning her PhD from the University of Kentucky. Most recently she has held the position of director of elementary education and student services in Fort Dodge, Iowa while earning her superintendent certification from the University of Northern Iowa. These educational experiences have grounded her in her educational beliefs of being strengths-based, making decisions that keep students at the center, and the importance of building collaborative relationships within the school community and beyond, while leading with integrity every step of the way. She is excited about what the Riverside School District and communities have to offer, and she looks forward to the opportunity to serve the district and communities. Her husband, Chris, is a computer science teacher at the Fort Dodge Middle School; their daughter, McKaelyn, is a junior at Iowa State University majoring in special education; and their son, Carter, is a junior at Fort Dodge Senior High attending the ICCC Triton Academy simultaneously.
