Hempfield Area names new assistant superintendent of elementary education

Hempfield Area School District has a new assistant superintendent for the 2020-21 school year.

Kimberlie Rieffannacht was approved unanimously by the school board this week for the assistant superintendent of elementary education position. The job was previously held by Matthew Conner who was named assistant superintendent for secondary education last month.

“I really want to come in and get to know the district, the families, the staff, faculty and leadership team and try to bring a new fresh look at it and … hopefully continue to make progress,” Rieffannacht said. “Of course, in the season of covid, we’re going to live through that together, and I hope to be an asset to that process and getting kids educated during this pandemic and this time of turmoil.”

Rieffannacht currently works as director of education at the Huntingdon Area School District near State College. She started her 14-year career as a mathematics teacher for grades six through 12, and became an alternative education teacher for middle and high school students.

For the past 10 years she has worked as an assistant principal, elementary principal and federal programs coordinator.

“The bulk of my time was as an elementary principal and working with the programming education at that level is a passion of mine and I really love working with our youngest learners so I’m looking forward to continuing that work,” she said, noting that she will have similar responsibilities at Hempfield .

Conner said the change from the elementary education position, which he held for the past three years, to secondary education is “very bittersweet.”

“I have always looked at my role of assistant superintendent as being one of support,” Conner said. “I look forward to shifting my focus to support the teachers, building administrators and families at our secondary schools in order to provide an excellent educational program at Hempfield Area School District.”

The assistant superintendent for secondary education position became available after Mark Gross accepted the superintendent job with the Mars Area School District.

Rieffannacht does not have a start date at this time, adding that she hopes to make the transition “sooner rather than later.”