The Board of Trustees is committed to a transparent, inclusive search process that reflects the voices of students, families, staff, and community members. The next superintendent will be expected to advance academic achievement, support safe and welcoming schools, and lead with integrity and collaboration.

 

The Board selected McPherson & Jacobson, an executive search firm, to lead this important effort.

 

Community feedback will play an important role in the search process. TRUSD invites families, staff, students, and community partners to share what they want in the district’s next leader through surveys, listening sessions, and public meetings.

 

 

& Position Profile

 

 

The Twin Rivers Unified School District Board of Trustees is seeking a highly qualified and fully credentialed Superintendent to lead one of Sacramento County's largest and most diverse school districts. Twin Rivers Unified serves approximately 25,140 students across 45 schools in the communities of North Sacramento, Del Paso Heights, North Highlands, Foothill Farms, Rio Linda, Elverta, and McClellan Park — communities with deep history, extraordinary diversity, and significant need. The Board recognizes that selecting a superintendent is among the most consequential decisions it will make, and seeks a leader of vision, integrity, and proven skill who is ready to meet the moment.

 

Twin Rivers Unified School District was formed on July 1, 2008, following a community vote that merged four North Sacramento-area districts: the North Sacramento School District, Del Paso Heights Elementary School District, Rio Linda Union School District, and Grant Joint Union High School District. The district's name was chosen from more than 300 community-submitted entries, reflecting community pride in its formation.

The district serves one of the most ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse communities in the Sacramento Valley. With a student population in which more than 80% identify as students of color — including 45.9% Hispanic/Latino, 14.7% White, 15.5% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 12.4% Black/African American — Twin Rivers is a genuinely multicultural institution. Approximately 30% of students are English Language Learners, 66% qualify for free and reduced-price meals, and 89% are classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged. The district's communities include large numbers of recent immigrants, refugees from Southeast Asia and East Africa, farm worker families, and multi-generational Sacramento residents.

The district's operating budget exceeds $524 million annually, with per-pupil spending at about $20,304 annually. Twin Rivers has achieved significant gains in graduation rates under its current superintendent, rising from 75.3% to 92%, outpacing the California state average. The district has also invested hundreds of millions in capital improvements, including a new Northlake TK-8 school, Universal Transitional Kindergarten facilities, and sports complexes at multiple high schools. Twin Rivers operates the cleanest school bus fleet in the nation, with 25 battery electric buses and a fleet of clean-fuel vehicles.

The incoming superintendent arrives at a time with both promise and challenges. The district recently experienced its first teacher strike and its aftermath, and is navigating recently discovered fiscal and governance irregularities at an independent charter it authorizes. Like many urban California districts, the district continues to confront persistent achievement gaps and enrollment uncertainty. At the same time, the district shines bright with its steadily increasing graduation rates and decreasing drop-out rate; promising growth areas in academic achievement; a vast array of CTE offerings, arts programs, and a well-developed adult education program; bond-funded facilities programs and school construction, improvements, and beautification; and increasing student participation in a dual enrollment program in concert with the local community college.  The right leader will see the current conditions as an opportunity — a chance to build trust, set a bold course, and deliver on this community's extraordinary potential. Hiring for this position is timed to afford the successful candidate time to confer with the retiring superintendent.

 

The candidate must have the background, skills, and abilities essential for excellence in educational leadership. The Board recognizes that selecting a superintendent is one of the most important decisions it will make. The Board desires candidates who have a proven ability and demonstrated accomplishments for the following position criteria:

 

The ideal superintendent is a bold, student-centered educational leader who places academic excellence and equity at the heart of the district's mission. This leader brings deep expertise in curriculum, instruction, and assessment, and is well-versed in research-based reading and writing practices. They understand the science of reading and can lead the implementation of culturally responsive, inclusive, and high-expectation instructional models. Grounded in data-driven decision-making, the superintendent is committed to closing the persistent achievement and opportunity gaps that affect Twin Rivers students — particularly in math and English/language arts, where district proficiency rates trail statewide averages. This leader aligns district-wide goals with school-level strategies and classroom practices, ensuring coherence and shared accountability across all 45 schools. The new leader also engages in the skillful, high-leverage, and balanced application of learning technology in classrooms. They advocate strongly for continued growth and development of signature district programs: college and career readiness — including CTE pathways, dual enrollment with American River College, and advanced placement programs — and invest in targeted interventions for struggling students. As the district's lead learner, this superintendent develops aligned professional learning that supports teacher growth, while modeling inclusivity, professionalism, and a belief that every Twin Rivers student can thrive in a culture of high achievement and innovation.

 

The ideal superintendent is an equity-centered leader who has the moral courage and systems thinking necessary to make bold, data-informed decisions through a clear equity lens, in alignment with the district’s Strategic Equity Plan. Culturally competent and experienced in serving diverse communities, this leader actively addresses opportunity and achievement gaps — especially for Twin Rivers' English Language Learners, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, foster youth, students of color, and students with disabilities. With a strong track record of dismantling systemic barriers related to language, ability, income, and geography, this superintendent ensures that resources, programs, and supports are equitably distributed across all schools and communities. This includes ensuring access to high-quality programming in arts, STEM, special education, and dual-language instruction. The leader recognizes and maximizes the impact on services to special needs students through the district’s own SELPA. The leader values and embraces the district's remarkable multicultural community, including many recent arrivals and refugees from global regions under strain, and demonstrates the ability to engage effectively with families from every background. Deeply committed to educational justice and ensuring that all students, regardless of status, are safe and welcome in the district’s schools, this leader leads with compassion, integrity, and urgency — and brings others along on the journey toward equity rather than working in isolation. The board expects that trends that have certain subgroups of students academically outpacing similar students in nearby districts will continue and expand, eliminating the achievement gap.

 

The ideal superintendent is a fiscally responsible leader with the expertise to develop and implement long-range financial and educational plans that directly support student achievement. They possess successful experience managing multi-hundred-million-dollar budgets, navigating California's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and Title funding structures, and overseeing bond programs and capital investment portfolios. Given Twin Rivers' historic enrollment decline — from approximately 37,000 students at merger to roughly 24,140 today — the superintendent must have a credible, creative strategy for enrollment stabilization and continued fiscal sustainability, and will capitalize on new housing in portions of the district experiencing growth. This leader demonstrates a deep understanding of fiscal fundamentals, including maintaining healthy reserves, addressing deficit spending risks, and making transparent, data-driven allocation decisions. They must be skilled and transparent in navigating the district's classroom spending threshold question and the fiscal vulnerabilities from the Highlands Community Charter situation. As a skilled problem solver in collective bargaining, facilities management, and day-to-day operations, this superintendent brings high integrity and a steady focus on long-term organizational health while maintaining the flexibility to respond to pressing immediate challenges.

 

The ideal superintendent understands that the district's relationship with its workforce is foundational to student success. The incoming leader arrives following the resolution of Twin Rivers' first-ever teacher strike, and must be capable of improving relations with Twin Rivers United Educators (TRUE) and the broader staff from a position of genuine respect and partnership. This leader approaches labor relations collaboratively and recognizes the impact of labor relations, competitive compensation, working conditions, and vacancies on district health and optimal student outcomes. Equally important, this superintendent is a community-centered leader who genuinely values the rich diversity and unique perspectives of Twin Rivers' families and neighborhoods. Deeply committed to building authentic relationships, this leader is consistently visible in schools and at community events — attending board and site meetings, town halls, and listening sessions, and actively engaging with local organizations, faith groups, and civic partners. They ensure that families and community members — regardless of background — feel heard, respected, and empowered to shape the district's direction. Multilingual ability, particularly in Spanish, is highly valued given the linguistic diversity of the Twin Rivers community.

 

The ideal superintendent is an inclusive, ethical, and courageous communicator who actively listens, values diverse perspectives, and builds strong, trusting relationships throughout the district and its communities. With exceptional verbal, written, and digital communication skills, this leader engages transparently with the Board, staff, students, families, bargaining units, and the broader community. Given the board's recent tensions — including public fractures during the teacher strike — the superintendent must be a skilled board relationship builder who fosters trust, supports the board's governance role, and establishes a productive, collaborative working relationship with all seven trustees. Culturally competent and emotionally intelligent, this leader fosters collaboration, navigates differences with respect, and leads difficult conversations — especially around educational equity, fiscal constraint, and labor relations — with clarity and purpose. They model civic engagement, create space for families and community members to be meaningfully involved in schools, and hold themselves and others to the highest standards of integrity and accountability.

 

The ideal superintendent is, above all, an educator who keeps students at the center of every decision. This leader reimagines student success broadly — nurturing physical health, social-emotional well-being, academic achievement, and creative development — and ensures that programming reflects the whole-child philosophy that has long been a strength of Twin Rivers schools. This next leader embraces and protects vulnerable populations like students with special needs, immigrant and refugee students, and the historically underserved, maintaining a sense of welcoming and safety for all. This superintendent empowers students, families, and staff to be active participants in a transparent decision-making process. They are committed to programs that give students agency over their learning, including project-based learning, student advisory groups, and expanded extracurricular opportunities. Recognizing that Twin Rivers students demonstrate achievement in diverse ways, this leader ensures that both traditional metrics and qualitative indicators — student surveys, listening sessions, and community feedback — inform district strategy. This leader is relentless in their belief that every Twin Rivers student, regardless of zip code, immigration status, language background, or economic circumstance, is capable of extraordinary achievement.

 

• Master’s degree required; Doctoral degree preferred in Education, Educational Leadership, or a related field
• Valid California Administrative Credential, or the ability to obtain one preferred
• Multilingual — bilingual in Spanish is strongly preferred, given the district's student demographics
• Successful experience and continuity as a teacher and leader at the classroom, site, district, and executive cabinet levels (superintendent, assistant/associate/deputy superintendent) preferred
• Unified school district (Pre-K to 12, Adult Education) experience preferred
• Demonstrated experience leading in high-need, high-diversity school communities preferred
• Experience with collective bargaining, labor-management relations, and trust-building with employee organizations preferred
• Demonstrated track record of improving student academic outcomes, particularly for underserved populations preferred
• Experience with a district SELPA and its operations on behalf of special needs students preferred
• Experience managing large budgets, bond programs, and multi-year capital plans preferred
• Familiarity with California's LCFF/LCAP framework, charter school authorizing, and state education law preferred
• Valid California Driver’s License, or the ability to obtain one required

View the Superintendent & Position Profile document

 

Questions about the superintendent search may be directed to the Superintendent’s Office at the district office in McClellan, CA, or to:

Yasmina Flores, Senior Executive Assistant
Email: yasmina.flores@trusd.net
(916) 566-1600 ext. 31208