To fill the role left by the retirement of longtime Dean of Students Jack Oros, Greenhill hired two people: Upper School Dean of Students George Heinrichs and Upper School Student Activities Administrator Kira Rivera.  

Heinrichs and Rivera both previously served as deans of independent schools in Seattle prior to coming to Greenhill.  

Developing Consistent Policies 

Having taught at multiple schools in various roles, Heinrichs can draw on that background to mold his unprecedented role. On top of this, Heinrichs teaches a section of U.S. History.  

Heinrichs began his career in education as a history teacher at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. He also coached three sports and debate. 

He next moved to the Sun Valley Community School in Idaho, where he continued to teach history along with sponsoring the Model United Nations team. He also lived in the dorms in his role as the assistant director of residential life.  

Prior to coming to Greenhill, he worked at the Downtown School in Seattle, where he served as the dean of students, humanities department chair and  head of safety and security. 

“[The Downtown School] was a small school: 160 students, 14 employees so it was a very tight-knit community,” said Heinrichs. “I decided I wanted to focus more full time on being a dean of students and interviewed for the Greenhill School.”  

Heinrichs first learned of Greenhill from Director of Equity and Inclusion Monsie Muñoz ’05, whom he met at a hiring conference in Boston.  

He says one of the first draws of the school for him was Greenhill’s dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion. 

“Hearing that this was built into our school so we can always say part of Greenhill’s mission is to really welcome students in of all backgrounds, of all races, ethnicities, from every zip code across Dallas, really made me feel like this is a school that had a firm sense of what it had been and what it wanted to be,” Heinrichs said. 

Heinrichs adds that the kindness of faculty and students, in addition to their many years on campus, spoke volumes to him. 

“You meet a teacher and they’re like ‘Oh, I went here,’ or ‘My kids go here,’” said Heinrichs. “It’s the fact that the founder of this school’s granddaughter and great granddaughter are here [that is] really a testament that this is a community that’s worth staying a part of.” 

Since Heinrichs’ role is new this year, he is continuing to refine it to fit the needs of students.Head of Upper School Trevor Worcester says although the retirement of Oros was bittersweet, he sees the arrival of Heinrichs as an opportunity to reinforce a culture with boundaries that were pushed in previous years. 

“If we say in the handbook that when these things don’t happen, this is the consequence, we’ve got to uphold them and be consistent with them, but I don’t think we were always doing that,” said Worcester. “I think that what a detention was over the last few years was probably not helping in the deterrence, which is what a detention is meant to do.” 

To combat this culture, Heinrichs says his main focus is to enforce consistent policies and procedures.  

“I think one of the challenges is also helping students and also families understand that I haven’t actually changed many policies,” said Heinrichs. “It’s more just enforcing the ones that are currently in the book and changing some of those kinds of expectations and behaviors.” 

As a leader of the Jewish Affinity Group, senior Sophie Fiedelman was one of the first students Heinrichs called in to hear more about the school culture.  

“Many students have been upset by many of the changes, but I think some, if not most, were things that needed to happen,” Fiedelman said. “If he wasn’t the one who enforced the rules, then students would be mad at whoever did. Overall, I like that Mr. Heinrichs wants to get to know students and wants to hear their opinions, but he is also not afraid to enforce rules that are necessary.” 

 Supporting Student Life 

Rivera’s roles on campus include teaching two sections of Advanced Algebra 2 and coordination of Upper School events.  Rivera has also made a commitment to encouraging students to lead and find their voices outside of the classroom.  

Growing up in Long Island, N.Y., Rivera attended a small independent school that exposed her to both the challenges and opportunities a private school can offer. 

“I think school was really hard when I was younger, because I felt out of place, and I felt like I didn’t fit in with everyone,” said Rivera. “But when I found theater, I was like ‘Oh, I love to sing and act and be silly.’ So in fifth grade, that became my favorite place to be.” 

After graduating from Barnard College, Rivera began teaching at YES Prep Northbrook Middle School, a charter school in Houston. She then lived in Dallas for a year, where she met her husband and taught at Uplift Luna Preparatory, a charter school in Deep Ellum.  

Later, she moved to Seattle where she taught and served in her first administrative role as dean of the freshman class at University Prep. 

“I have always had this desire to try new things, and to see if things work,” said Rivera. “And if they don’t, they don’t, and that’s okay.”  

Similar to Heinrichs, Rivera was drawn to Greenhill’s consistent commitment to diversity and inclusion. She says she deeply appreciated the kindness both students and faculty displayed throughout the interview process and orientation. 

“When we did orientation here, I had this moment where I teared up because I was like ‘this is a special place,’ and I want to be part of a special space, and I want to be part of making it better,” said Rivera. 

Rivera’s role as Upper School student activities administrator has required her to learn about Greenhill’s culture and traditions. 

“As I come into this space, I want to honor the traditions that have been here,” said Rivera. “I want to learn the traditions. I want to ask questions about the traditions. But in the first year, there’s a lot of learning that I have to do.” 

Junior class vice president Hazel Goes-Young says she has enjoyed working with Rivera on the Student Council. However, when planning Homecoming activities, some disagreements arose. 

“There have been a few bumps in the road, especially with the [Homecoming] decorations and how we were going to do it with community service hours and how we were going to get the student body to participate,” said Goes-Young. “But I think we were able to come to a compromise pretty well.”  

Dividing the dean of students role into two positions opens many possibilities, said Worcester. While the former dean of students handled both discipline and oversight of student life, separating the two roles results in more dedicated time for student needs.  

“The role of the dean of students was clear when it was one person,” said Rivera. “But now it’s splitting up becoming two parts. And it’s not that they’re completely separate.” 

Although internal candidates applied for both the roles of dean of students and Upper School student activities administrator, Worcester wanted to hire externally to infuse new perspectives into the Greenhill community.  

“Even though I’ve been here now for 27 years, I needed other people to come in and ask the questions of, ‘Why is it that we do this?’” said Worcester.  

As Rivera continues in her role, she says she aims to support leaders involved in clubs, boards, Student Council and various other spheres in the Greenhill community.  

“You’re student leaders, but eventually you’re going to be college leaders, or you’re going to be business leaders,” Rivera said. “You’re going to be a leader somewhere else, and you can always take these skills with you. I want to empower as many students as possible to say, ‘I have a voice, and I can make change.’” 

This article appears in the Sept. 30, 2024 issue of the Evergreen Print.