Crestmoor Elementary Principal to Resign

The principal of , who just after the previous principal left, is resigning from his position at the end of the year, San Bruno Patch has learned.

Principal Ryan Haven cited personal reasons for his upcoming departure from the San Bruno Park School District. He said his decision was based on the fact that he was asked to run two elementary schools next year, which wouldn't allow him to responsibly balance his work life and his family.

"As a parent of young children, I must carefully balance what I take on professionally with my number one priority: playing an active role as a husband and father," Haven said in a letter today addressed to parents. "In addition, I needed to consider which leadership capacity would enable me to be most effective in making an impact on students' lives. Given both of these factors, and despite the fact that I hate to leave any position after such as hosrt time, I have decided that being the principal of one school would be the better decision for my family than being a principal of two."

Haven said he has accepted a position as principal of a school in Los Altos for the fall.

Haven's resignation comes a week after the to 13 teachers and Rollingwood Elementary Principal Schrene Whitmore, another new principal to the district this year. With Whitmore being let go, the district has been hinting that Rollingwood would have to share a principal with another school next year. But nothing has been said publicly yet about the issue.

Crestmoor Elementary has also been striving as a school community to recover from the devastation caused by the 2010 pipeline explosion in their neighborhood. Many families are still fighting—with PG&E and their insurance companies—to restore their lives.

Crestmoor has also been facing a battle on another front with the threat of school closure. The school board ultimately voted not to close any schools after a backlash from the community.

School board President Skip Henderson said the school district will likely have to embark on a search to find a replacement for Haven, but nothing will be decided until the board meets collectively about the issue.

"It's an unfortunate set of circumstances, but you can’t fault anyone for their reasons," Henderson said of Haven's resignation.

Haven stressed that he wasn't forced out of his position and that he enjoyed working in the district and especially in the Crestmoor school community.

"I cannot emphasize enough how fortunate I feel to have landed my first administrative post in the Crestmoor community," he said in his letter to the community. "I thank the interview team that gave me this wonderful opportunity as well as Dr. Hutt for his ongoing support and training. I also want to thank my fellow principals and the entire district staff for their help."

He continued that the "highly professional" Crestmoor staff and "one-of-a-kind" students made his tenure at the school worthwhile.

"Crestmoor and San Bruno will always hold a special place in my heart," he said. "Thank you for your partnership in this most important work that we do together: the educating of our youth and the raising up of tomorrow’s leaders."

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