Sartell-St. Stephen School District Selects Superintendent

(KNSI) – The Sartell St. Stephen School Board has announced its new hire to replace outgoing Superintendent Jeff Schwiebert.

In a motion passed Thursday night, the board selected current Mounds View Superintendent Dr. Jeff Ridlehoover to lead the district going forward. District officials praised Ridlehoover’s closing the achievement gap and solving equity issues within the Mounds View district. Those are two areas the Sartell St. Stephen School District is hoping to improve.

Current District 748 Assistant Superintendent Kay Nelson and Albany Area Schools Superintendent Greg Johnson were also interviewed. The three were selected from a field of 18 candidates.

Johnson has been the Superintendent at Albany Area Schools since 2014. Before that, he served as Principal for Sartell-St. Stephen Schools and St. Cloud Area Schools. He has also been a K-12 Principal at Swanville Public Schools and an elementary school teacher for Moorhead Area Schools.

Nelson has been with Sartell-St. Stephen Schools since 1991, starting as a music teacher before moving on to become a District Assessment Specialist in 1998. She served in that role until 2000, before returning to the classroom until 2012 when she was named Assistant Superintendent.

Dr. Ridlehoover has served mostly in the Twin Cities area as a science and chemistry teacher, Associate Principal, Assistant Principal, Principal, and Adjunct Professor at Hamline University.

Ridlehoover’s official start date is set for July 1st.

___