Acting Superintendent Rena Seifts Appointed by School District Trustees

By Anna Pier

At 10:25 pm June 5, President Catarina Landry made the following announcement on behalf of the Sonoma Valley Unified School District Board. Her report concluded a Special Closed Session which followed the regular Board meeting that evening. Note: Ms. Rena Seifts (pictured) is currently Deputy Superintendent and CFO of the District.

“I have several important announcements to report out from closed session. To begin, the  governing board is pleased to share that Ms. Rena Seifts has agreed to serve as the Acting Superintendent of the Sonoma Valley Unified School District, beginning Monday, June 9. Dr. Rodriguez-Chien will be focused primarily on the transition of leadership until her last day on June 30.

Our District must address many challenging transitions, including leadership, the middle school integration, as well as the continued study of our elementary programs and where best to place the dual immersion program for continued success and expansion. Therefore, we believe it is imperative to have a leadership team in place that will provide consistency by overseeing this work throughout the coming summer months and into the next school year.

Ms. Seifts is a skilled leader who is prepared to bring her passion and extensive experience to the leadership position.  We are confident that her knowledge and commitment will serve us well during this transition period and we are grateful that she has accepted this responsibility.

As to transitions, we know that merging our two middle schools is a task that requires vigilant attention to details, and great sensitivity to our employees’ needs as we all work together to ready the campus and classrooms to welcome students and staff to the next school year.  To this point, we are thrilled to share that Troy Knox, our Director of Special Education, has agreed to oversee the middle school integration.  Serving as the special project coordinator, he will work in close collaboration with principal Snow and our labor partners to make sure that we are supporting our employees’ needs as we manage this move.  We know that his calm confidence and thoughtful leadership style will help to ensure a smooth transition.

On behalf of the governing board, I would like to extend our sincere appreciation to Dr.. Rodriguez-Chien for her dedicated service to our District. We are also deeply grateful to Ms. Seifts and Mr. Knox for accepting these special assignments and for stepping up to take on increased responsibilities. We truly value their leadership and commitment to serving our students during this important time.”