The back-to-school season has begun and kids from across the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area are heading to classrooms to meet new teachers and make new friends.

In some schools, students and families will meet new principals and see new faces in leadership positions as well.

Six local districts have new superintendents this school year, including Cincinnati Public Schools, the largest school system in the region and the second largest in Ohio. Shauna Murphy has stepped in as interim superintendent following the dramatic departure of Iranetta Wright at the end of last school year. Alesia Smith has been named interim deputy superintendent alongside Murphy.

More: How Cincinnati’s ‘star’ supervisor fell victim to the district’s ‘fragmented culture’

Cincinnati Public Schools also named the following interim assistant superintendents: Deb Klein will oversee elementary schools, Amy Randolph will oversee secondary schools and John Chambers will oversee the district’s performance, redesign, sustainability and growth.

William Rice is the new superintendent of Ross Local Schools in Butler County. Rice was previously an assistant superintendent at Fairfield City Schools.

“I am honored and humbled to have the opportunity to work with the wonderful staff and students of Ross Local School District,” Rice said in a spring press release. “As a member of the community for almost 12 years, I love the spirit and willingness of this community to do whatever it takes to improve the lives of our youth. I promise this community that I will give my all as I work to provide the best educational experiences for every student.”

The district also has a new director of curriculum: Emily Doblinger.

There is also a new superintendent at Carlisle Local Schools: Bob Fischer. Fischer has three decades of experience in education and was most recently superintendent of the National Trail Local School District in New Paris, Ohio.

Rick Wolf is the new superintendent of Dayton Independent Schools in northern Kentucky. He has served the district for 25 years as a teacher, dean of students, athletic director, high school principal and director of teaching and learning. And Chris Wright is Dayton’s new director of teaching and learning, after teaching for 11 years and spending the past five years as assistant principal at the high school.

In Grant County Schools, Todd Moody is the new superintendent. Claudette Herald now serves as deputy superintendent, and Jamie Kellam is chief academic officer and assistant superintendent. Also joining the district’s leadership team is Jamie Gokey as director of secondary education.

Jason Steffen is the new superintendent of Ludlow Independent Schools. According to an article on the state Department of Education website, Steffen is entering his 23rd year of education and has served Ludlow for 14 years.

Tracey Miller, the new superintendent of the Richmond Exempted Village School District, plans to retire before the second semester of the upcoming school year, so families can expect an announcement about the district’s new leader this fall.

New School Leaders in Southwest Ohio

In Hamilton County:

This school year, Cincinnati Public Schools has several new principals:

• Tony Greco at James N. Gamble Montessori High School.

• Ashley Morgan at Walnut Hills High School. This is a temporary position.

• Aketa Barrow at Robert A. Taft Information Technology High School. This is a temporary position.

• Gabrielle Billingsley at Pleasant Hill Academy. This is a temporary position.

• Shawnteala Cade at Roll Hill School. This is a temporary position.

• Mark Gumm at Dater Montessori School.

• Danielle Battle at Shroder High School.

• Kayla Brunswick at the Oyler School.

Indian Hill Exempted Village School District has a new high school principal, Andy Gruber. Alex Fries is the new assistant principal at Indian Hill Middle School, and Nate Eigher is the new assistant principal at Indian Hill Primary School.

Jeff Crowe is the new vice principal at Delshire Elementary School in Oak Hills.

Norwood has a new principal, Brooke Gregg, at Norwood View Elementary. Amanda Blanton is the new assistant principal at Norwood Middle School.

Deer Park Community City Schools has a new principal at Amity Elementary: Laura Warman. The school also welcomes Jonathan Wilson as its new assistant principal.

Mark Edwards is the new assistant superintendent for the Reading Community City School District. Mandy Franklin has also joined the district’s leadership team as athletic director. Gina Sansone is the new elementary school principal.

Princeton City Schools has two new principals this year. Michelle Peterson is replacing retiring principal Shari Hoskins at Heritage Hill Elementary School. And Michael Anderson is replacing Kyle Jepson at the Princeton Innovation Center. Anderson most recently served as Princeton’s elementary education adviser and building administrator.

Sycamore Community Schools has several leadership changes for the upcoming school year. Meghan Lawson is the new assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, replacing Kelly Wegener, who retired late last year. The district also has a new assistant treasurer, Brody Bronson.

Greg Cole, a longtime teacher and administrator, is now the principal at EH Greene Intermediate. Natalie Jimenez, formerly with Lakota Local Schools, is now the principal of Blue Ash Elementary after longtime principal Leslie Combs retired at the end of the school year.

Sycamore’s new vice principals are: Ashley Gallahar and Katelyn Robinson at Sycamore High School, Samantha Helms at Sycamore Junior High, Natalie Moss at EH Greene Intermediate, Danielle Gray at Maple Dale Elementary and former EH Greene Intermediate assistant principal Lindsay Combs at Blue Ash Elementary.

In Butler County:

This year, Mayfield Elementary School in Middletown hired a new assistant principal: Cassidy Wodke.

Talawanda has two new principals this year. At Talawanda Middle School, Pamela Theurer is now principal. Kirsten Cannon is the new principal at Bogan Elementary.

Fairfield High School has two new assistant principals this year: Joe Muhlberg and Jordan Smith. Muhlberg is new to the district, and Smith is a former Academy teacher. Jenny Ament, the new principal at South Elementary, is also new to the district. Michelle Hilbert, a former teacher at South Elementary, is now the school’s assistant principal.

The district also moved Kim Hauer, former director of human resources, to assistant superintendent and Jason Hussel, former principal of South Elementary, to director of human resources. Jennifer Skirvin was promoted from supervisor of special services to director of special services at Fairfield.

In Clermont County:

Jacob Kallgren is the new principal of West Clermont Middle School this year. The West Clermont School District has several new vice principals, including Gretchen Braitsch at Amelia Elementary, Curtiss Mason at Clough Pike Elementary, Natalie Edwards at Summerside Elementary, and Eric Fangman and Heather Robbins at West Clermont High School.

Clermont Northeastern Local Schools has a new high school principal, Shane Hartley. He is the district’s third high school principal in three years, according to the district. He previously served at Finneytown High School, Deer Park High School and the Forest Hills Local School District.

The new principal at Pattison Elementary School in the Milford Exempted Village School District is Rob Dunn. The district also has two new vice principals: Christy Gregory at the high school and Jerome Comello at the middle school.

In Warren County:

Kings Local Schools has a new vice principal at JF Burns Elementary School, Ericka Thompson.

At Wayne Local Schools, Shelby Herlihy has been named the new assistant principal of secondary education (middle and high school) and Kevin Wright has been named the new director of student services and special education.

Little Miami Schools has a new assistant principal at its elementary school: Audra Westbeld-Quinlan. Chad Konkle is the district’s new director of administrative services, and Melissa Buckalew is the district’s new director of special education.

School budget cuts: How Warren County District Is Restructuring to Save Money This Fall

Lori Limon is the new principal of Franklin High School. Limon was previously vice principal of Edgewood High School. Franklin City Schools is moving to classroom buildings this year due to budget cuts. While there are no new elementary school principals, they are now split differently between schools:

• Franklin Intermediate Schools (grades 3-5) with Principal Kimberly Irgens and Vice Principal Erin Truesdell.

• Hunter Primary School (Year 2) with Principal Jeremy Ward.

• Gerke Elementary School (grade 1) with Principal Jim Rhoades.

• Schenck Elementary School (Kindergarten and Elementary School) with Principal Josh Pohl.

Northern Kentucky Schools’ New Leaders

Jaren Finney has been named the new assistant superintendent of student support for Covington Independent Public Schools, replacing Janice Wilkerson, who retired after 25 years with the district.

Finney has 26 years of experience in education and has served as a teacher, teacher’s aide, dean of students, assistant principal and principal. Most recently, Finney served as principal of Rockdale Academy in Cincinnati Public Schools.

“I am honored and committed to working with our outstanding team of educators, leaders and Superintendent (Alvin) Garrison at Covington Independent Public Schools and I look forward to serving all of our students,” Finney said in a recent press release.

Four Grant County school buildings have new principals this year. Bryley Murphy is the high school principal; Dustin Plunkett is the high school principal, Michelle Lawrence is the principal of Dry Ridge Elementary School and Sheena Walters is the principal of Crittenden Mount Zion Elementary School.

Tim Mosley of Campbell County Schools is the new high school principal, after serving as assistant principal at the district high school. Chris Barwell, a former high school principal, is now principal at Alexandria Educational Center. Jason Gay is assistant principal at Campbell County High School.

Dayton High School also hired a new assistant principal, Brian Volpenhein, who taught at Dayton for the first five years of his career and then taught at Beechwood for five years.

Andrea Krumpelman has been named the new principal of Mary A. Goetz Elementary School in Ludlow Independent Schools.

In Fort Thomas Independent Schools, Peter Winkler is the new principal and Kara Kowalk is the new assistant principal at Moyer Elementary. Highlands High School also has a new assistant principal: Jennifer Nash.

This article originally appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer: The List: New school principals in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky