The Kansas City, Kansas school board unanimously approved hiring their new superintendent during a special meeting last week.
The national search for a new superintendent began last November and Anna Stubblefield was selected out of a pool of 21 candidates, becoming KCKPS’ first African-American woman superintendent.
During the process, the board included the community to participate in surveys and online discussions to understand the district’s expectations and hopes for a new superintendent.
“We used that input to help guide our decision making as a board every step of the way,” said KCKPS board president Randy Lopez.
“Dr Stubblefield brings a wealth of knowledge in the areas of academic improvement, social emotional learning, equity and commitment to education and community. We look forward to working with you in this next chapter of our great district,” Lopez said at the board’s special meeting.
Since 2018, Stubblefield has served as the deputy superintendent for Lawrence Public Schools where she oversees equity work, human resources, special education, curriculum and instruction and the Lawrence Virtual School.
Stubblefield began her career in education as a teacher, coach and then assistant principal in the Blue Valley and Center School Districts. She has also served as the Lawrence Public Schools assistant superintendent and director of human resources.
“I’m excited about leading KCKPS and I am just grateful for this opportunity. I really appreciate the board in trusting our over 20,000 students under my care with the team that’s already here in place,” Stubblefield said. “I look forward to reaching out to the community and working collaboratively with our students, our staff and our community members to really charter our way so that we are reaching that vision of being one of the top 10 school districts in the country.”
Stubblefield will begin her first day as KCKPS superintendent in July under a three-year contract, replacing Alicia Miguel, the interim superintendent.
“This is an exciting time for our district,” Miguel said. “KCKPS is strong and we know we’re going to be stronger with (Stubblefield’s) leadership.”