Kevin Daniel did not arrive at Riverton Intermediate School as a stranger. He grew up around the community it serves. Daniel became principal of the Madison County^↗ET school on July 1, and he takes over a building that has been getting bigger: Riverton Intermediate counted 921 students in 2025-26, the most recent school year in the state's published data, and its highest total in state records going back to 2014-15.

"The biggest draw for me in coming to Riverton Intermediate was simply the community, our students, families, and the staff here at RIS," Daniel wrote in answer to questions from The ALEdTribune. "I grew up around this community, competing alongside and against its students in academics and athletics, so I already knew the values that define it."

Daniel confirmed his start date in writing in July. Alabama's state school directory previously listed April McCutcheon as the school's principal.

A Madison County career

Daniel's path to the principal's office runs almost entirely through Madison County Schools. According to his biography on the school's website, he is a graduate of the district who finished at Hazel Green High School, then earned a bachelor's degree from the University of North Alabama and a master's degree in educational leadership from Arizona State University. He has worked at New Hope High School, Meridianville Middle School and Monrovia Middle School, and most recently served as assistant principal at Madison County Elementary School.

That history is why he describes the job as a return to people he already understood. "This is a community that values hard work and integrity and is deeply committed to providing the very best for its children," he wrote.

He was just as direct about the staff he inherited. "I was equally drawn to the remarkable work of the staff at RIS," Daniel wrote. "The success they have built over the past several years is a testament to their ability, dedication, and unwavering focus on student learning."

A school that keeps adding students

The enrollment record gives that description some weight. Riverton Intermediate serves fourth, fifth and sixth graders, and its count has risen in each of the last four years, from 782 in 2021-22 to 921 in 2025-26. The two most recent years did most of the work: the school went from 825 students in 2023-24 to 871 in 2024-25, then added another 50. That is 96 more students in two years, an 11.6% increase. In 2014-15, the school counted 748.

Size is part of what makes the job distinctive. Riverton Intermediate was the sixth-largest of Madison County's 28 schools in 2025-26; only three high schools and two middle schools enrolled more. Riverton Elementary School counted 603 students. Madison County as a whole enrolled 19,991 students that year.

The school has also been taking a slightly larger slice of the county's students in its grades. In 2025-26, Riverton enrolled 19.6% of all Madison County fourth, fifth and sixth graders, up from 17.7% in 2014-15.

The state's data shows where the students are but not why they came. Nothing in the enrollment file separates new housing, attendance-zone changes, or families moving within the county, so the growth is a fact about the building rather than an explanation of it. Current-year counts will also differ once the state publishes 2026-27 data.

Daniel's first-year plan is not built around changing course. "In my first year, my focus is not on changing what has made RIS successful, but on protecting and strengthening the pillars already in place," he wrote. "I want to honor the work that brought us here while finding thoughtful ways to build upon that foundation and continue moving our school forward."

"Clear is kind"

Asked what he wants families and staff to understand about his approach, Daniel went straight to communication. "My main message to our families and staff centers on clarity," he wrote. "I believe that clear is kind. When we are willing to communicate clearly it demonstrates how deeply we care about the people involved and the work we are doing together."

He did not frame clarity as a way to avoid disagreement. "We may not always agree on every issue, but when we communicate clearly, honestly, and factually, we give ourselves the best possible opportunity to move forward together in a positive and productive direction," he wrote.

Three grades, three jobs

An intermediate school has students for only three years, and at a school this size it is fair to ask how any one child avoids getting lost in the middle. Daniel's answer is that each grade has a different assignment. "Our approach to preparing students for middle school is intentionally developmental," he wrote.

"In fourth grade, our focus is on belonging and identity," Daniel wrote. "We want students to understand what it means to be part of the Wolf Pack and to begin developing their own story within our school community." Fifth grade shifts the weight toward the student. "In fifth grade, we raise expectations for both academics and self-advocacy," he wrote. "Students are encouraged to take greater ownership of their learning, communicate what they need, and begin developing the leadership skills they will need as our oldest students."

Sixth grade is where the plan points outward. "By sixth grade, we are preparing students for the transition ahead," he wrote. "We identify student ambassadors who serve our school in a variety of ways and provide our sixth graders with meaningful opportunities to lead. We view this final year at RIS as a dress rehearsal for middle school, with increased expectations for academic responsibility, behavior, independence, and leadership."

That final year is also the school's biggest. Riverton counted 327 sixth graders in 2025-26, compared with 298 fifth graders and 296 fourth graders, and it was the largest sixth-grade count in the state's records for the school. The same grade grew as it moved through the building: Riverton had 297 fourth graders in 2023-24 and 327 sixth graders two years later, a gain of 30. Grade counts are not the same children tracked over time, since they net out students who arrive, leave or repeat a grade. But the pattern is not new. In 8 of the 10 two-year stretches the state's records allow, from 2014-15 onward, Riverton's sixth grade ended up larger than the fourth grade it started as, and the most recent stretch showed the biggest gain.

Daniel described the goal in terms of who students become, not just what grade comes next. "The goal is that our students do not simply leave RIS ready for seventh grade," he wrote. "We want them to leave knowing who they are, how to advocate for themselves, how to lead others, and how to meet the expectations of the next chapter in their education."

For a principal who says his first job is protecting what already works, the enrollment line sets the test. The building he inherited has grown four years running, and its sixth grade is now the largest it has been in state records. Whether the belonging-first approach in fourth grade and the ambassador roles in sixth can hold at that scale is the question his first year will begin to answer.

Enrollment counts come from the Alabama State Department of Education. Years refer to the school year ending in the spring; 2025-26 is the most recent year the state has published. Riverton Intermediate reports no prekindergarten students in any year, so its totals are comparable across the full 2014-15 to 2025-26 window. Madison County's share comparison uses the county's published grade 4, 5 and 6 counts.

Detailed code that reproduces the analysis and figures in this article is available exclusively to EdTribune subscribers.