South Ripley's Moorhead Named District Superintendent Of The Year

By Mike Perleberg South Ripley Community Schools superintendent Rob Moorehead. (Versailles, Ind.) - South Ripley Community Schools’ superintendent has been named the District VIII Superintendent of the Year. The Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents on Tuesday announced that Rob Moorhead is the top superintendent among those in all districts in Bartholomew, Brown, Dearborn, Decatur, Clark, Floyd, Franklin, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio, Ripley, Scott, Switzerland and Washington counties. According to the IAPSS, the winner in each district is selected by other superintendents in their district who consider the qualifications and accomplishments of area colleagues and their instructional leadership in a time of scarce resources. Moorhead is a former teacher, coach, and principal at South Dearborn High School. He been the top administrator at South Ripley Schools since 2012. In his time at South Ripley, Moorhead has guided the district to becoming an “A” rated district by the Indiana Deparmtent of Education, a one-to-one technology district, and offering high school students a dual-enrollment opportunity with Ivy Tech Community College. Last year, he led the creation of the Ripley County Alternative to Suspension Program. Just last month, South Ripley Junior High School received the coveted National Blue Ribbon School award from the U.S. Department of education. Back in April, the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association named Moorhead one of its Administrators of the Year. The full news release from the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents is below:

Rob Moorhead, superintendent of South Ripley Community School Corporation, has been named 2017 Superintendent of the Year for District VIII by the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents.

Winners are selected by other superintendents in their district who consider the qualifications and accomplishments of area colleagues and their instructional leadership in a time of scarce resources.

Moorhead has been South Ripley C.S.C. superintendent since 2012.  The district has remained committed to providing quality educational programs for students despite the decline in state financial support.

When Moorhead became superintendent, the district had just experienced a collapse of its entire technology network, losing data and eroding employees’ confidence in using technology. The technology system has been rebuilt, and the district has since implemented a one-to-one computer program for students in grades K through 12. Moorhead also led the creation of the Ripley County Alternative to Suspension program that serves four small school districts. The county school districts have also established relationships to share academic programs, with South Ripley hosting a biomedical sciences program and other districts hosting an engineering academy and an Advanced Placement science program.  Moorhead also worked with Ivy Tech to create dual-enrollment opportunities at Ivy Tech for South Ripley students during the school day.

South Ripley C.S.C. has been an “A” rated school district for the past four years and its junior high school has been a Four Star School each of those four years.   

Moorhead is a graduate of Hanover College and earned post-graduate degrees from Xavier University and Indiana State University. He is a member of many community activities, including the Dearborn County Hospital board of directors, the Economic Opportunities Through Education Action Team, the Ripley County Community Corrections Advisory Board and the Southeastern Indiana School Insurance Consortium Board of Directors. 

One of the eight district winners, Chris Himsel, who is superintendent of Northwest Allen County Schools, was named Indiana Superintendent of the Year for 2017 and will represent Indiana in the American Association of School Administrators National Superintendent of the Year program.