Changing of the guard at school district

Longtime staff members move on, new faces join district, get promoted
The 2015-2016 school year comes with a significant amount of change for the Healdsburg Unified School District, with a new superintendent, director of curriculum and instruction, and high school principal. Chris Vanden Heuvel will be stepping up as superintendent from his Healdsburg High School principal role, a new hire has been chosen as director of curriculum and instruction and the district is currently in the middle of a statewide search for a new high school principal.
Current Superintendent Jeff Harding and Director of Curriculum and Instruction Annie Millar are both leaving the school district, after seven years.
Hiring Annie Millar was one of Harding’s first decisions as the new superintendent, back in 2008. “I try to surround myself with highly intelligent people who are passionate about working with students. I knew that [Millar] was that type of school leader when she applied to work in Healdsburg,” Harding said. “I was familiar with her outstanding work as the director of Village Charter School. She was a great leader at Village Charter and she also recognized the needs of our Spanish speaking community.”
Harding was hired on July 1, 2008. Mary Burke was a trustee on the school board, and was elected board president in December of that year. Burke said that during their time with the district, Harding and Millar put new pilot programs in place such as the Accelerated English Language Program, programs that help immigrant parents negotiate the American public school system, music programs and implemented new technology.
Additionally, Harding and Millar started the charter school and started teams at each school site that look at various aspects of each school. Burke said that Harding also issued a bond that allowed remodeling at the high school and junior high.
“Very carefully, the two of them had a plan for taking on the challenges that had not been taken on,” Burke said.
Healdsburg schools suffered from financial distress for many years before Harding arrived. “The district was on the verge of financial insolvency when the financial crisis hit in 2009. Everyone contributed to budget-cutting measures as we cut school days and reduced services to maintain financial solvency,” Harding said.
Harding said that preparing every student for 21st century workforce skills remains a challenge, but fortunately, the schools have made significant progress in raising academic standards. “Students are better prepared than ever, but we must continue to raise the bar,” he said.
An accomplishment Harding is particularly excited about is HUSD’s success in teaching academic English to all students. “We want every student to be proficient in English by the third grade,” he said.
Healdsburg will see a new superintendent, director of curriculum and instruction, and high school principal in the next few months.
Chris Vanden Heuvel will step up from his role of HHS principal to lead the district as superintendent.
“I think the school board made a really smart move in selecting Chris Vanden Heuvel, who has been a part of this entire change process, and I think that’s going to carry the tradition on to the next level,” Burke said.
Vanden Heuvel said that it has been his privilege as HHS principal to be a part of the tremendous transformation that HUSD has undergone over the last three or four years.
“The district has made such progress in so many areas – AVID, career education, accelerated English, inquiry based learning – the list could go on and on. I am excited to continue to be a part of this evolution as superintendent, partnering with our community, students and dedicated staff to continue building on our recent success,” Vanden Heuvel said.
He said that one of his primary goals as superintendent is to be on campuses, in classrooms, interacting with students and teachers on a daily basis. “There is no more important voice than that of our students and I am most looking forward to continuing to form strong relationships with students and finding ways to better support them in their learning,” Vanden Heuvel said.
He said that he is excited and honored to have the opportunity to lead the district. “I look forward to partnering with our entire community as we collaborate to create world class schools in Healdsburg,” Vanden Heuvel said.
Erin Fender has been chosen as the new director of curriculum and instruction. Fender joins the Healdsburg team with experience at all levels of education, as a teacher, school leader and teacher trainer. In the recent past, Fender led professional development events with local teachers at Healdsburg High School and Healdsburg Charter School.
Both Vanden Heuvel and Fender will begin their new assignments on July 1.
Vanden Heuvel said that the district is currently searching for a new HHS principal, with the hope of having a strong candidate in the role by the end of June.