Riverside Elementary principal resigns

Brandi Flisram, principal at Riverside Elementary School in Wichita, resigned without explanation Monday.

“She resigned. It is a personnel matter,” said Susan Arensman, spokeswoman for the Wichita school district. Arensman declined to give further details.

Reached by phone Tuesday morning, Flisram said she did not want to comment on the reason for her resignation. In an e-mail to some colleagues and district staff, she said she was stepping down to “focus on my family and my son.”

Alison Renner, assistant principal at Beech Elementary, will be interim principal at Riverside starting Wednesday, Arensman said.

In a letter to Riverside families Monday, Alicia Thompson, assistant superintendent for elementary schools, said Flisram had resigned and thanked her “for her dedication to the students and teachers at Riverside.”

Thompson said Renner, the interim principal, has four years experience as an assistant principal and would be “a great fit for Riverside.”

“Ms. Renner is excited to get to know the Riverside students and their families,” Thompson said in the e-mail.

Flisram, 38, was named principal at Riverside in 2013, replacing Susan Rosell, who that year became principal at Dodge Elementary. Prior to that, Flisram was principal at Buckner Elementary. She began working for Wichita schools in 2002 as a teacher at Spaght Elementary.

Riverside Elementary, a leadership magnet at 1001 N. Porter, is one of Wichita’s oldest and smallest schools. Its enrollment last fall was 271 students.

This story was originally published January 31, 2017 at 10:06 AM with the headline "Riverside Elementary principal resigns."