Commitment to Serving All Catches Notice

Profile: Kimberly Rizzo Saunders

In the hills of southwest New Hampshire lies the Contoocook Valley School District (better known as “ConVal” to locals), a cooperative district led during the past eight years by superintendent Kimberly Rizzo Saunders.

During that tenure, she made an indelible mark on the 2,000-student district by advocating for preschool education and equal access to quality public education, even when state support did not make those pursuits easy. As she worked vigorously for ConVal to embody the district’s vision of “all means all,” others took notice.

Rizzo Saunders was honored as New Hampshire’s 2024 Superintendent of the Year and was one of four finalists for AASA’s 2024 National Superintendent of the Year Award. In late spring, she was named superintendent of the 5,000-student Kennett Consolidated School District near Philadelphia, assuming the role in late August.

Back in New Hampshire, one of her crowning achievements was the establishment of Preschool for All. Recognizing the alarming trends among kindergarteners who trailed in their development of basic skills, she launched a five-year journey in 2019 to develop a fiscally responsible and evidence-based preschool program.

“We had to meet this challenge expeditiously and effectively,” Rizzo Saunders says.

The result: a robust program preparing about 125 children for academic and social-emotional success. The implementation of Preschool for All demonstrates “proactive leadership,” says Heather McKillop, ConVal’s high school principal, because it addresses specific learning needs early on.

The superintendent’s advocacy extended beyond school walls and district boundaries. In New Hampshire, the state’s funding for schools ranks among the lowest in the country, but Rizzo Saunders refused to accept this status quo. In 2019, she challenged the state’s inadequate school funding formula, rallying 18 other school districts to join her fight despite political obstacles.

While the fight is ongoing, a 2023 court ruling found the state’s current base funding rate to be insufficient, which could lead to a state spending increase of $3,256 per student.

In ConVal, approximately 25 percent of students qualify for free and reduced-price lunch, though the superintendent believed the figure to be much higher, as families in rural communities seemed reluctant to apply for federal help.

To address food insecurities, the district partners with End 68 Hours of Hunger, a nonprofit on a mission to fill the 68 hours of hunger that some school children endure between Friday’s free lunch and Monday’s free breakfast. Rizzo Saunders says the school community’s remarkable generosity regularly filled a 400-square-foot room with nonperishable foods, enabling ConVal staff to distribute nearly 300 packages to students every weekend.

Like others, Rizzo Saunders confronted the lingering challenges brought about by COVID-19. She says: “With grant support and community partnerships, we’ve been able to provide wraparound services so that we were not just focusing on the academics but also on social and emotional aspects as well.”

McKillop, a principal of four years, says her colleague’s “resolute demeanor during the uncertain times … remains vivid in my memory. Her steadfast declaration of ‘we can do this. We will do this’ reverberated with unwavering belief in our collective strength as leaders.”

Elizabeth Serrano is senior marketing manager at AASA.