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Super superintendent of Delano high schools

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DELANO — Rosalina Rivera sees her job as a “call to duty” and a way to give back to the community that educated her.
Her sentiment comes from the top, the very top, as superintendent of the Delano Joint Union High School District. Rivera gives much credit to her staff, teachers, counselors, coaches, “everyone contributes.” Her job is to bring everyone together for the benefit of the students.
Rivera, 47, is about the most approachable person in town. She comes out to greet those who visit her office. You are more likely to see her on one of the five district campuses — including three comprehensive high schools — or at a football, basketball or volleyball game than her office. She is so down-to-earth that you feel you are talking to your favorite tía rather than a district superintendent.
She is Delano’s best-kept secret.
Rivera’s status as the first Latina to head a Kern County school district is also not well-publicized, but she has held that honor for three years, when she took over the high school district after spending 16 years with the Delano Union Elementary School District.
Her management style is team-focused, “No one above the other,” she said.
“I love my job. I enjoy every single minute here,” Rivera said. “I can work here for 24 hours.”
She is quick to acknowledge not all students — trying to manage those awkward teen years — feel that way about school.
“High school is tough for kids,” Rivera said. “That’s why we create an atmosphere of pride, old-fashioned Delano High School District pride, built on tradition!”
And that tradition transcends to teachers and staff, many of whom graduated from Delano High School, just like Rivera did in 1980.
“We have a lot of alumni who come back and support us,” she said. “Many come back to work and teach.”
She uses that to help put students on a positive pathway to a better life, whether it is college or a vocational school or a job after graduation.
“For most students, high school is almost like completing your life in education, you either complete it or you don’t,” she said. “Students can also build a second bridge that they can use to become a professional in another capacity.”
Teamwork with her employees is important to her. “We all can disagree, but we have to agree on the education of the students.”
Rivera’s story begins in the Mexican town of Irámuco, Guanajuato, where she was born. Her father — a cook in the original U.S. Bracero program in the 1940s — worked there as a butcher. Her mother took care of Rivera and her nine brothers and one sister.
When she was 7, the family moved to the tiny community of Richgrove, east of Delano, where she attended school. The town’s high schoolers, as they still do today, travel the seven miles to attend school in Delano. Back in the late 1970s, there was only one campus, Delano High School.
“I was a very proud Tiger,” Rivera said of the DHS mascot. “I was also a Top 10 student.”
Her plan after high school was to pursue a law career and she was actually accepted into Stanford University. But she didn’t go because it “wasn’t an avenue for me at the time, because it involved moving away from my family.”
Instead, she attended Cal State University, Bakersfield, where she earned her bachelor’s degree and teaching credential. But even that wasn’t planned.
She and a friend met up with the teacher trainer at CSUB, because her friend was interested in teaching. Instead, Rivera was recruited.
“I told her I was too shy to get up in front of a classroom,” she said.
“(Dorothy Tuttle) said you’d be a great teacher.”
She enrolled in the (MiniCorps) program, which is geared toward migrant students focusing on the educational field.
“I’ve always liked the school setting,” Rivera said. “I was fortunate I had very good teachers, who loved me as a student and treated me with utmost respect. My teachers were the type that took on the life of a student, shaped them and took care of them.”
As a college student, her first placement was in the Delano high school district as a tutor and helper. “It’s funny how the circle of life brought me back here.”
Her first teaching job was at Bakersfield College, followed by a year of teaching at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Delano, which has since closed.
Then came a job at McFarland Middle School that would change her life — for the better. That’s where she met her husband, Bulmaro “Boomer” Rivera.
The couple has two daughters, Devina, 18, and Alexa, 12.
It wasn’t long before she was back in Delano, this time as a resource teacher at Albany Park School in charge of the school’s curriculum. She would spend the next 16 years in the Delano Union Elementary School District. Her husband, “Boomer” Rivera, still works in the district — as a resource teacher at Princeton Elementary School. She still looks back fondly at her time at Albany Park.
“I learned a lot of things, my motto is, ‘Yes, I can try it, figure out a way to get it done and find an avenue to get the needed resources.’”
Although she loved teaching, Rivera said, “I always knew I’d be an administrator, dealing with the different needs for students.”
She began her administrative credential at National University, and completed it through Fresno State University. Rivera moved through the elementary school district, topping out as an assistant superintendent in charge of instruction.
Making the move to the Delano’s high school district was almost like a graduation. The district now has three high schools. Cesar Chavez High School opened in 2003 and Robert F. Kennedy High School opened in 2008.
“High school is very busy,” she said. “There’s always something exciting about it. Not a day goes by that won’t inspire you to think.
“And the kids are so respectful, some even salute me and think I’m the president of Delano.”
District Board of Trustees President Arnold Morrison said he first met Rivera about 20 years ago, during her days at Albany Park School.
“Rosalina worked her way up through the ranks quickly in the elementary district because she is a great people person, and always sees the potential and the good in everyone,” Morrison said. “If you have had a bad day, or just need some inspiration, you can’t go wrong having a chat with Rosalina.”
He raves about her traits as a strong woman, “who can get people to communicate and reason with each other.”
“Since she’s been on board, her talents have truly changed the atmosphere in the district from one of skepticism to one of trust. And deep down, she has never forgotten where she came from. She treats everyone as an equal — from her veteran colleagues at the top all the way down to the first year employee.
“I am thrilled and honored to represent the High School District as Board President with Rosalina at the helm,” Morrison said. “The fact that she is Latina is an added bonus — I can’t think of a better role model for our students. I hope she stays in the district for many years to come.”