A Harrisonburg city school employee has been recognized with an award from the Virginia Department of Education – and she’ll advance to the accolade's national round of consideration. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
At the Library of Virginia on Tuesday, Kimbra Hill was one of two public school staffers presented with Virginia's 2025 RISE Award – which stands for Recognizing Inspiring School Employees. Hill is the senior administrative assistant at Harrisonburg High School, and has served the district for more than 21 years. She was nominated by Principal Melissa Hensley.
MELISSA HENSLEY: She's incredibly humble, and if she's not here, we all know it.
Hensley called Hill her "right arm." Over the years, Hill has also been an instructional assistant, athletic secretary, and secretary to elementary and high school principals.
HENSLEY: Kim is always looking for ways to create a really positive environment in the front office that's welcoming to the community, parents, students. A good work environment for all of the staff who work in the front office. She's been very supportive and very instrumental in onboarding a more diverse workforce in our front office through participation on our interview panels and looking for folks who really care deeply about the Harrisonburg community, and she's always looking for ways … that she can just take the load off of teachers a little bit to support them.
Hill was recognized alongside Jimmy Horton, a fleet mechanic with Galax City Public Schools. The two will be considered in addition to other states' nominees for the national RISE Award, which will be announced in the spring.
