Hempfield Area hires administrator as assistant superintendent departs for Greater Latrobe

Hempfield Area Superintendent Mark Holtzman will reunite with a former Beaver Area colleague following a vote by the school board this week to hire a new administrator for the district.

Emily Sanders will assume her post as Hempfield’s deputy superintendent this summer. She comes to the job after three years as the assistant superintendent at Beaver Area — where Holtzman worked for two years before his arrival at Hempfield in July 2024.

Her salary will be $172,500, Hempfield human resources Director Robert Reger said.

Sanders is gearing up for her 25th year in education.

She began her career as an English teacher at Monessen Middle School and West Middlesex High School before moving on to administrative roles. She worked as assistant principal at West Middlesex, Baldwin and Peters Township high schools.

While at Beaver Area, Holtzman hired Sanders from New Castle Area School District, where she was director of academics and innovation.

“She was highly recommended by people that I value, former superintendents … for her work in innovation and creativity and technology,” Holtzman said. “It was a different skill set than I had, and she is great at what she does and hard-nosed. But (she has) a lot of expertise in the business of education and multiple facets of teaching and learning.”

Rieffannacht heads to Greater Latrobe

Sanders’ hiring comes as Assistant Superintendent Kimberlie Rieffannacht departs Hempfield for the superintendent post at Greater Latrobe.

Rieffannacht, 39, of Unity received a five-year, $180,000 contract with Greater Latrobe in May — four months after her contract with Hempfield was renewed.

She had worked as Hempfield’s assistant superintendent of elementary education since 2020 — apart from a brief stint as interim superintendent in late 2024 when then-superintendent Tammy Wolicki announced a leave of absence.

“We are not pouting,” Holtzman said of Rieffannacht’s departure. “We’re excited for her. We’re excited for her family.

“We are proud of her opportunity and accomplishment, and we’re here to support her just a few minutes down the road.”

Hempfield administrator aims for collaboration

Matthew Conner, Hempfield’s assistant superintendent of secondary education, received a renewed three-year contract in January.

The school board gave Conner a new five-year contract Monday, appointing him to assistant superintendent. His $176,104 salary is consistent with the January contract.

Holtzman, Conner and Sanders will determine their split of responsibilities this summer, Holtzman said. He plans to focus on creating a collaborative environment amongst the administrators, including Jamie Schmidt — the district’s first director of innovation, strategic partnerships and safety.

“Emily’s role as a deputy superintendent allows … for her to oversee some of the ancillary departments and provide oversight into some of those areas,” Holtzman said. “But Dr. Conner and herself, as well as Dr. Schmidt, who is our new director of innovation, will play a role in the teaching and learning process.”

Sanders to lead innovation, renovation

The director of innovation position was approved by the school board in October. Schmidt, hired in April, will be tasked with overseeing innovative programs for students and accompanying professional development for staff.

Schmidt also will play a key role in guiding the center of innovation proposed for the district’s high school renovation. The school board advanced a schematic design for the renovation in May.

Sanders aims to collaborate with Schmidt. An educational leader in artificial intelligence, Sanders has given AI talks and led professional development training statewide, Holtzman said — including at Hempfield.

Educators need to explore how AI can be used effectively and ethically in schools, she said.

“We’re going to see a paradigm shift because of the way AI is going to keep evolving,” she said. “It’s going to change what we do as educators, and it’s going to change the way the workforce is. It’s going to shape that.

“We need to be able to prepare our students to be successful contributors in a workforce and economy that we currently don’t know what it’s going to look like yet.”

Sanders led Baldwin High School as assistant principal during its renovation in the late 2000s and kick-started construction of an innovation hub at Beaver Area this year.

“I look forward to learning where the (high school renovation) project is at Hempfield,” she said, “and how I can help with the development and the implementation of programming once the space is built.”