Dr. Stephanie Anderson, director of elementary education and student services for the Fort Dodge Community School District, has been named the next superintendent of the Riverside Community School District in southwest Iowa.

The Riverside CSD announced Anderson’s hiring on Thursday.

Anderson will take over on July 1 after current Riverside CSD Superintendent Dr. Timothy Mitchell retires at the end of the 2022-2023 school year.

“I am honored and excited to have been chosen to be the next leader of the Riverside Community School District,” Anderson said. “The community cohesiveness, academic and extracurricular celebrations and amazing people were the highlights from my research and interview experience. I look forward to continuing the great work you are already engaging in as a community and school district.”

Anderson was one of two finalists for the Riverside position. The other finalist was Dr. Casey Moran, assistant director of special education for the Council Bluffs Community School District.

Anderson, a native of Fonda, has served as the FDCSD director of elementary education since 2018 and prior to that, she was the principal at Butler Elementary School. She graduated from Newell-Fonda High School and earned her bachelor’s degree from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake.

Anderson’s teaching career began in an elementary classroom in Vermillion, South Dakota, before she returned to teach in Storm Lake. She earned her master’s degree from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion and her PhD from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. She has also served in elementary principal roles in Spencer.