A new principal of Rio Norte Junior High School and a new assistant principal at Hart High School was approved by the William S. Hart Union High School District Governing Board. 

The board approved Brenda Bennett as the Rio Norte Junior High principal and Rich Gutierrez as assistant principal at Hart High School.

Both Bennett and Gutierrez have extensive experience in education. Bennett began her career in 1996 as a middle school history teacher at Sepulveda Middle School before coming to Sierra Vista Junior High School in 1998. 

Along with being a teacher, she held leadership roles including at the SCV Character Counts Coalition and an AVID team member.

In 2004 Bennett became an assistant principal at Sierra Vista and she remained in the position until she moved to Rancho Pico in 2013 as assistant principal. Since then, Bennett has been an assistant principal at Arroyo Seco Junior High School since 2021.

She has a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences from San Diego State University and a Master’s Degree from California State University Northridge in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.

Gutierrez has worked as both a teacher and coach in the Hart District since 2002 when he started as a special education teacher at Sierra Vista Junior High School.  From there he went to Bowman High School where he taught until 2008.

He then moved to Canyon High School for special education and became head varsity football coach and athletic director until 2020.  Before accepting his new position, he was the athletic director at Saugus High School.

Gutierrez coached multiple sports, worked as an administrative intern and as a team member for school site council, site leadership, school safety, and was a WASC focus group leader.

He was voted Teacher of the Year at Golden Oak Adult School and Bowman High School, was named to Who’s Who Among American Teachers and was the NFL Coach of the Week in 2011.

Gutierrez has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from California State University Northridge and a Master of Science in Special Education from National University.

Bennett and Gutierrez begin their new roles on July 27, 2022.

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