The Superindent's Office sets the direction for the District's teaching and learning strategies and activities, including curriculum, professional development, technology integration and more. It also oversees all operations, from facilities to finances to human resources, to ensure a functioning and effective public education system for our community.

About Superintendent Rick Bagley

Dr. Bagley began his tenure as Superintendent of the Ross Valley School District in August, 2014.  With over four decades of real-life experience in teaching, learning and educational leadership, Dr. Bagley helped improve students’ outcomes, joy of learning and lifelong success in public school systems large and small.  Prior to joining RVSD, Dr. Bagley proudly served in a number of school and district leadership positions, including Deputy Superintendent/Chief Business Official, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, Director of Student Services/Special Education and classroom teacher at the elementary, middle school and high school levels. An unapologetic lifelong learner, in 2012 Dr. Bagley earned his doctorate in K-12 Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, where he completed a dissertation entitled, “The Sustainability of Superintendent-Led Reform to Improve Student Achievement.” He holds a master’s degree in Special Education and another in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from California State University, Los Angeles, as well as a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Credentialed by our state in elementary education, special education and administrative services, Dr. Bagley has also taught graduate-level courses in school finance, school law, human resources and special education at USC, California State University, Los Angeles and as a member of the adjunct faculty of the Michael D. Eisner College of Education at California State University, Northridge. A product of California’s public school system from kindergarten through high school, Dr. Bagley is a passionate and outspoken supporter of high quality, well-resourced, democratically-governed, neighborhood public schools. Dr. Bagley believes that through a unified and sustained commitment to collaboration, learning, inspiring, mentoring and believing (CLIMB), all RVSD students can and will have the opportunity to reach their unique potential throughout their school careers and beyond.

Holiday Message from the Superintendent (December 23, 2016)

Dear RVSD Families,
 
Happy holidays!  This is the time of year when we all hopefully have the opportunity to be with loved ones, enjoy the spirit of the season and feel gratitude for the abundance in our lives. It is also a time when many, like our ever-growing Children for Change club, reach out with helping hands and open hearts to give back, pay it forward and brighten the season for others.
 
The holidays also signal the ending of one year and the beginning of another.  This annual transition of calendar years offers us a chance to pause and reflect on what will soon be in our rearview mirror.  More importantly, the coming year gives us an opportunity to begin anew, charting a path into the future that respects what we’ve learned from the past while embracing the changes that are inevitably ahead.   
 
In reflecting back and looking forward, I am grateful and humbled to be the Superintendent of this outstanding school district.  Here is why:
 
Our remarkable students remind us every day why education is our chosen profession.  From transitional kindergarten students constructing models of robots to eighth graders researching and recreating characters from the Civil War period, our students continuously amaze and inspire us with what they are learning, thinking about and doing.
 
Of course, schools and school districts cannot accomplish much without highly competent district and school leaders, teachers and staff.  In every position classification we are privileged to have such individuals, who collectively are the team that makes RVSD a great place for all students to learn and grow.
 
Our district and site administrators are true servant leaders, who share a vision for the future and are leading the changes necessary to realize it. Our outstanding teachers focus on the whole child with their whole heart, inspiring and transforming their student learners into a generation that will one day be responsible for shaping our world and its future. Our dedicated staff, who often work quietly behind-the-scenes making all the things happen that keep our district running, proudly also serve as educators, leaders and role models for our students and for us. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to them all, in this time of reflection and always, for their unwavering dedication each day.
 
I am also very grateful for our volunteers, the YES Foundation, our parent clubs and site councils, those who help in the classrooms and on field trips, our civic leaders, and community partners – each and every parent/guardian and community member who has a hand in supporting our RVSD students.  The many decades-long success of our District is due in no small part to “the village” it takes to make great things happen.  We are all so lucky to live, work, and play in such a village.  
 
We are truly fortunate to have an incredibly experienced, hardworking, bright, creative and student-centered group of senior District leaders.  These are professional educators of the very highest caliber, whose skill sets and real-world experience complement one another and who expertly wear the many hats required to lead a small District with limited resources. They are wise and trustworthy and their leadership is helping our District move ever-forward. Assembling the right team of leaders in the same place at the same time is rare in my experience, but we have it here and our District benefits each day from all this talented team brings to the table.  
 
Continuity in our District’s human resources is crucial to our ongoing success.  The fact that so many of our leaders, teachers and staff are dedicated to RVSD, and choose to remain here, is testimony to their commitment to our District, our schools and your children.  I am so honored to be on this journey with them all!
 
I am proud to serve with the phenomenal Board of Trustees you elected to govern the Ross Valley School District. In my 40 years of service to California public education, they are second to none in their unified devotion to doing what is best for all students in our district. They willingly give of their precious time and abundant talent, with no compensation, to make the decisions you empower and expect of true community leaders. These decisions are often rooted in complex and intricate detail that take significant time, thought and research to fully know and comprehend.  
 
Equipped with a depth of knowledge individual community members typically don’t have the time themselves to acquire and uniformly understand, your elected Trustees are often faced with making difficult decisions that at times may run contrary to the opinions and wishes of colleagues, friends and neighbors but are made in the best interests of children. Such decisions require steadfast integrity, moral courage and selfless commitment, often in the face of adversity.  Thank you for joining me in expressing our deepest appreciation and gratitude, to Anne, Annelise, Amy, Mark and Wesley, for their fine stewardship on behalf of all RVSD students.
 
Finally, there would not be a Ross Valley School District if it weren’t for you, our RVSD families.  Your children are the reason we exist -  the only reason. They are why we get up each morning to do this work every day and why we believe so strongly in public schools that welcome all students who come through the door.  The situations we work through are sometimes complex. We know that not everyone will always agree with every decision.  And we know that changes are hard, particularly when they might impact our individual children, who are most precious to us as parents.
 
But we also believe that in spite of the imperfections in a continually moving and changing education system, ours is the most elegant of all choices for giving children the opportunities and experiences they will need to succeed in our increasingly small, yet diverse, world.  So thank you again for allowing us the privilege of working with your children.  And as always, your perspectives and input are important to us.  I’ve heard personally from many of you and thank you all for sharing your thoughts, ideas, questions and concerns.  Thanks in particular, to so many of you who have written to share your heartfelt support of all we are doing and hope to do, to make RVSD an even better district in the months and years ahead.
 
Successful and sustained operation of schools and school districts is hard work - much more difficult than it looks on paper. Your continued confidence in our ability to lead RVSD forward is what nourishes and keeps us going.  Thank you for that and  thanks for taking the time to read this message.  On behalf of our Board of Trustees and the entire team here at RVSD, I wish you and your family all the very best this holiday season and always.
 
May 2017 be a bountiful, kind and fulfilling year for us all.
 
In Gratitude,

Rick

Rick Bagley, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Ross Valley School District

Superintendent's Letter to the Community (September 27, 2014)

Dear RVSD Community,

As we finish our first full month of the 2014-15 school year, I want to briefly share some highlights and a few coming events that may be of interest.

To start, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention we began 2014-15 with many new faces in RVSD, including my own! In all, you've welcomed 30 certificated and classified staff to our district. These new members of the Ross Valley family bring an incredible wealth of knowledge, talent and experience to our students. I believe I can speak for my new colleagues in saying we are thrilled to be part of this outstanding school district and we look forward to working with everyone as we build upon RVSD's tradition of educational excellence.

Now for some of the highlights:

• • According to our principals, staff and my own observations, school opened with lots of positive energy as excited students and families came back from the summer recess.
  • 2,281 students are now enrolled in our schools, an increase of 16 over September 2013.
  • Teachers immediately got their classes going, utilizing project-based-learning and other best practices to engage students and inspire learning.
  • Thanks to your support of Measure "A," students at Brookside and White Hill were welcomed this year into amazing new or modernized classrooms.
  • Award-winning programs such as STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) continue to thrive and grow, thanks in large part to generous support from our YES foundation.
  • The Elementary Infrastructure Upgrade Project was completed, equipping each classroom with state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment as well as the wired/wireless infrastructure needed to support our current and future needs.
  • Our new Teaching and Learning Community (TLC), made up of teacher leaders and administrators throughout RVSD, is now helping guide our thinking and work as we continue making Common Core State Standards a part of our everyday practice.
  • Back-to-School nights and fun family events such as BBQs and picnics were huge and well-attended successes at all schools.
  • Many special events (author assemblies, read-a-thons, farmers' markets and more) have begun taking place around the District.

These are but a few of our many accomplishments and activities, and we've only just begun!

To stay connected with what's going on at your local school site, I encourage you to periodically check in with each school's calendar of events. Links to school calendars are listed below:

• • Brookside Elementary School
  • Hidden Valley Elementary School
  • Manor Elementary School
  • Wade Thomas Elementary School
  • White Hill Middle School

I also encourage you to become one of our Twitter followers (@RVSD) so you are up-to-date on our latest district highlights.

Coming up at the October 7, 2014 meeting of the Board of Trustees, the Board will be honoring staff who have reached longevity milestones. Since we expect a larger turnout for this event, we will be moving the meeting to the Wade Thomas auditorium. The employee recognition will begin at 6:00 PM, followed by a brief reception.

In addition, the Board will be conducting an open public hearing regarding the proposed Ross Valley Charter School. Copies of the charter petition and appendices are available on our web page (www.rossvalleyschools.org > Quick Links > Topics of Interest) or directly from the hyperlinks above. The public hearing on the charter petition will begin at approximately 7:00 PM. The purpose of the hearing is for the public to have an opportunity to share perspectives about the proposed charter school, which the petitioners anticipate opening next fall (2015-16 school year). The Board's role in the hearing is to listen, without comment or response, to the feedback presented. Staff's final recommendation regarding the charter petition will be presented to the Board of Trustees at their regular meeting on November 4, 2014.

As Superintendent, I am proud to be on this journey with you and a gifted group of professional colleagues, who devote themselves each day to making a profound difference in the lives of your children. Finally, on behalf of the Board of Trustees and everyone here in RVSD, I thank you for allowing us to teach and lean alongside your amazing children. Your support of them, and us, is important beyond words.

Have a great year!

Rick