By Kathleen Acuff

Leslie Crane, in her fifth year as principal of Oak Elementary School, will take over as principal of Covington Elementary School immediately after the December break, the Los Altos School District announced last week. Dave McNulty, Covington’s current principal, will take a medical leave of absence beginning in January.

Superintendent Marge Gratiot plans to ask the school board to appoint Diane Finch interim principal of Oak until McNulty returns from his leave, at which time he will become Oak’s permanent principal.

Finch retired as principal of Loyola Elementary School in 1995 after serving six years in that position and 35 years in the district, including years as principal of Almond, Oak and Covington schools. Since retiring, Finch has continued to serve the district as a new teacher coach and in other capacities.

In a letter to parents of Oak students, Gratiot explained that the decision was prompted by “the continuing uncertainty over the location of the charter school (and) the need to have one person supervise the process for moving Oak to the camp school next year.” Oak moves to the Blach Intermediate School campus this summer. Gratiot said that McNulty is “the perfect person to oversee the transition to camp school and back.”

Writing to parents of Covington students, Gratiot said that McNulty “has worked tirelessly on behalf of the students … and on the difficult task of forming a new school culture.”

McNulty was principal of Oak for several years and principal of Bullis-Purissima Elementary School last year. Of his imminent departure from Covington, he said, “The school’s going to be fine. I want to encourage everyone to give their support to Leslie Crane.”

Crane was vice principal of the two K-8 schools in the Las Lomitas Elementary School District in Atherton and Menlo Park before returning to Los Altos, where she was born. She attended Springer Elementary, Blach Intermediate and Los Altos High schools. After receiving her teaching credential, she taught for 10 years at Egan Junior High School.

Crane said she will miss the Oak community but is looking forward to getting to know the Covington community.

“I really am excited about my new assignment,” she said. “I will do whatever it takes to make the school and the district successful.”

Crane added that her emphasis would be on “keeping things positive, keeping things moving.”