With first year behind him, Riverhead superintendent looks ahead as students return

As Riverhead students head back to school this week, School Superintendent Bob Hagan is beginning the year with something he did not have when he arrived last summer: a year of experience leading a school district. 

Riverhead is the first school district Hagan has served in the superintendent’s role. He came to Riverhead from the Longwood Central School District, where he served as assistant superintendent for human resources. He was previously the director of technology learning and instruction in the East Hampton School District.

As superintendent since July 2025, he’s spent time getting to know the district, its schools, its staff and the broader community, Hagan said in an interview Monday. Now, as students return for the 2026-27 school year, he said he feels better positioned to support the work happening in classrooms and school buildings.

Coming into a district from the outside, Hagan said, means there is a lot to “learn, listen” to and understand. This year, he said, he knows the buildings, the people and many of the community organizations that surround the schools.

His focus for the year ahead, he said, will include “supporting quality of instruction” across the district.

The district has three instructional goals for the year: strengthening cognitive demand in classroom work —in other words, giving students work that makes them think, explain and solve problems;  making sure students get the support they need to tackle grade-level work, without lowering expectations or doing the thinking for them; and increasing student ownership and helping students apply what they learn in new situations.

Hagan said the goal is to align the district from kindergarten through 12th grade around common expectations for rigorous, standards-based instruction.

Students and families will also see some physical changes in the district this fall. At Pulaski Street Intermediate School, floors were replaced throughout the building, including a brighter entryway with blue accents and the Riverhead blue wave logo embedded in the floor near the main entrance. The work involved installing 55,000 square feet of flooring and was completed in three weeks, while there were 400 students in the building for the district’s six-week extended school year program, Hagan said.

The district also renovated kitchens at Phillips Avenue and Riley Avenue elementary schools and completed work tied to its energy performance contract. Solar panels are being installed at several district sites, including behind the middle school, in the high school back parking lot, at Phillips Avenue, Aquebogue, Riley Avenue and Roanoke Avenue. Hagan said the district was careful to place the panels where they would not obscure school buildings.

The energy performance work also includes LED lighting, weatherstripping, boiler replacements and unit ventilators that improve fresh-air flow in classrooms. Hagan said the energy performance contract is structured to produce guaranteed savings for the district over time.

Other summer work included new playground equipment at Roanoke Avenue Elementary School and moving the athletic director’s office back into the high school, closer to coaches and student-athletes.

The new school year also brings several leadership changes. Jessica Farmer is the new principal at Roanoke Avenue, Phil Cabrera is the new principal at Pulaski Street and Jacqueline Kenny is the new principal at Aquebogue Elementary School. Hagan said he is especially pleased that the administrators were promoted from within Riverhead.

The district also plans to appoint Dr. Manuel Hernandez, now the district’s chief information officer, as director of secondary education and data management at the Sept. 16 Board of Education meeting, Hagan said. The position will help connect instruction and data work at the secondary level, he said.

At the high school, Hagan said the district is continuing to build its restructured after-school program that began last year, which has helped students who were at risk of leaving school stay enrolled, earn credits and continue working toward graduation.

The district often uses the phrase “Riverhead is home,” Hagan said, and that sentiment reflects how many people view the schools and the community.

Even though Riverhead is a larger district, Hagan said, it still has a small-town feel and a strong sense of tradition. Many district employees live in the community, and many have longstanding ties to Riverhead.

Hagan said that commitment is part of what drew him to the district and what makes him want to stay.

“This is the only place I want to be,” he said.