Superintendent Update letter from River Bend Board of Education
River Bend Families,
Dr. Hogue recently announced that he will retire at the end of the 2025-26 school year. The River Bend Board of Education is grateful for his 12 years of service to the River Bend Communities and we wish him the very best as he joins his family in full time service to support them.
It is the job of the River Bend Board of Education to hire and support a superintendent. Given the current educator shortage and shrinking pool of qualified candidates, it has become common practice for Boards of Education to work with internal candidates when filling open positions. Over the last year, Mrs. Kelli Parsons has earned her Superintendent endorsement, completing her internship in the district. During her internship, Mrs. Kelli Parsons successfully took on several District level duties including writing the Preschool For All grant and overseeing the resulting growth in preschool operations, attending budget and levy workshops, and participating in district committees. During the time of her internship, Mrs. Parsons expressed interest in becoming the superintendent of a small, rural school district. Given her interest, the Board of Education has had the opportunity to observe and work with Mrs. Parsons to evaluate her candidacy for the superintendency. After observing, meeting with and interviewing Mrs. Parsons, The River Bend School Board feels they have a highly qualified candidate who has demonstrated a high level of success throughout her internship and with the many activities and initiatives she has led.
While the historical approach to hiring a superintendent has been to engage a professional search firm, this process is not required. The Board of Education is excited to announce that Mrs. Parsons has been selected to replace Dr. Hogue, beginning her tenure as the next superintendent in July, 2026. She will be able to work closely with Dr. Hogue during the 2025-2026 school year. This will give Dr. Hogue and Mrs. Parsons a full school year to transition and plan for the future of River Bend.
Mrs. Parsons is currently working on completing her doctorate in educational leadership through Illinois State University. She holds a professional educators license with endorsements to serve as a superintendent, chief school business official, and director of special education. Mrs. Parsons has successfully worked as the Fulton Elementary School Assistant Principal for the last two years. Prior to joining the River Bend District she worked for Regional Office of Education 4 as a Social Emotional Learning Specialist. Before moving to the community, Mrs. Parsons worked for five years as a Special Education Coordinator for BMP Tri-County Special Education Cooperative and for fourteen years as a Special Education Paraprofessional then Teacher for the Henry-Stark Special Education Cooperative. Mrs. Parsons began her career in education as an Agriculture Teacher and FFA Advisor in Brown County and Roseville.
We look forward to Mrs. Kelli Parsons tenure as the next Superintendent of River Bend Schools,
Dan Portz River Bend Board of Education President