Riverside’s Finest

WORDS: ALONDRA FIGUEROA PHOTO: ZACH CORDNER

At The Riversider, we truly believe in the tremendous power of public education. It’s widespread in our families, and we know how tirelessly educators work to bring knowledge and skills to our entire community. That’s why we wanted to be the first to interview our newly appointed Superintendent of Riverside Unified School District—Ms. Renee Hill. Hill is a stellar educator who began her career at Longfellow Elementary in the 1980s. However, her love of Riverside started when she attended the Model UN hosted by UCR in high school. The college students genuinely welcomed her with kindness, and it was that experience that helped guide her decision to attend UCR. Not only for her bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies, but also for her teaching credential and Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She’s been a Riversider at heart ever since! Ms. Hill has truly devoted herself to education and positively influencing the lives of her students, staff, and faculty for the past 28 years. Her previous position within RUSD was Chief Academic Officer—a position that entailed working with principals and district departments to ensure that the focus was on furthering student learning, equity across programs and services, as well as skills development for education professionals. When asked what’s her favorite part of being an educator, Ms. Hill answered in two parts, “I’m able to learn all the time, and always have a reason to continue my learning. Also, I’m motivated by helping people meet their aspirations.“ Ms. Hill shared that as Superintendent she would focus on CARE, which stands for:

C - Cared for- All RUSD students, families, and team members will feel cared for and about. A - Academic achievement R - Reduce any service gaps that we have E – Excellent - strive for excellence every time in everything we do

This strategy is so critical now more than ever as we all emerge from this incredibly difficult pandemic. It’s become clear that after all that our community, and especially our kids have been through, we all can use a little more care at times. Ms. Hill’s focus on the whole person, in regards to students and staff, is another reason why she stands out as one of Riverside’s finest. With Ms. Hill’s longtime dedication to education and her focused CARE approach to providing service to our community, it’s no surprise that she was chosen as one of Riverside’s finest. We can’t wait to see what progress RUSD makes under her wellrounded leadership and we look forward to seeing her continue to shine by helping others achieve.