Craycroft Joins as New Principal of Mustang Family
Brad Craycroft becomes principal, after Espiritu leaves Pioneer for a district office job.
By Mia Howell
Brad Craycroft becomes principal, after Espiritu leaves Pioneer for a district office job.
By Mia Howell
On April 27, former Pioneer principal Herbert Espiritu announced to Pioneer families that he had accepted a district office position at Palo Alto Unified School District. Midway through the summer, former Leland High School Principal Brad Craycroft was announced to be taking over the role as principal.
As defined by San Jose Unified School District, when hiring a new principal the SJUSD community is surveyed about what qualities they wish the new principal to possess. The candidates are then to be placed in front of a school interview panel composed of parents and staff. However, on June 17, Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services J. Dominic Bejarano sent an email out to the Pioneer community stating that, “Given the continued hiring challenges in all sectors of the economy, we are modifying the interview process to ensure we can fill the position before the start of the 2022-2023 school year. We will not hold the school interview panel with employees and parents and will instead appoint the candidate that is the best fit for Pioneer based on the qualities and characteristics your community prioritized for the new principal.”
Craycroft went to UC Davis and received a degree in English. From there he taught at Abraham Lincoln High School for eight years. Craycroft was formerly a principal at Bret Harte Middle School for two years, and then became principal at Leland High School. After six years there, he became the Manager of Curriculum and Instruction for SJUSD, which is the job he held before returning to a school site. During that time he worked with administrators and instructional coaches to bring different curriculum initiatives to 6-12 grade schools and ensured that there were school supplements such as textbooks available. After spending time working at the SJUSD district office, Craycroft made his return to Pioneer as principal.
“I love being on campuses,” said Craycroft. “I love being around students and having a closer impact with what's happening in the classroom.”
While this is Craycroft’s first year at Pioneer, Assistant Principal of Student Services Tim Gavello, who has worked here for 12 years, has observed Craycroft’s communication and applauds him for his efforts thus far.
“I think he has stepped into the role and done a fantastic job communicating with the admin team on his expectations and also communicating that with the staff,” said Gavello.
Matt Coelho, 10, has had Craycroft substitute for multiple classes due to the ongoing substitute shortage.
“I like Mr. Craycroft, from the times I've spoken with him. He seemed very positive and driven toward making the school the best it could be,” said Coelho. “I have had him fill in for multiple of my teachers and he seemed very excited to help out where he could around campus.”
Math teacher Whitney Goodman appreciates Craycroft’s approach to handling conflict at school as well his communication with faculty, students and teachers.
“I like how quick he is to respond to things and I like how professional he is,” said Goodman. “I like how he’s made his presence known. He’s outside at lunch, he’s walking around, he’s saying hello to the kids, he's popping into classrooms.”
In October, advanced drama will be putting together a production of “The Music Man,” where teachers and staff will be the main characters and the advanced drama class will play the background characters. Craycroft, along with several other faculty members will be participating in the production this year.
“I’m learning about the culture and the school itself because every school is different,” said Craycroft. “I’m in the school play this year. So I’m jumping in with both feet.”
As defined by San Jose Unified School District, when hiring a new principal the SJUSD community is surveyed about what qualities they wish the new principal to possess. The candidates are then to be placed in front of a school interview panel composed of parents and staff. However, on June 17, Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services J. Dominic Bejarano sent an email out to the Pioneer community stating that, “Given the continued hiring challenges in all sectors of the economy, we are modifying the interview process to ensure we can fill the position before the start of the 2022-2023 school year. We will not hold the school interview panel with employees and parents and will instead appoint the candidate that is the best fit for Pioneer based on the qualities and characteristics your community prioritized for the new principal.”
Craycroft went to UC Davis and received a degree in English. From there he taught at Abraham Lincoln High School for eight years. Craycroft was formerly a principal at Bret Harte Middle School for two years, and then became principal at Leland High School. After six years there, he became the Manager of Curriculum and Instruction for SJUSD, which is the job he held before returning to a school site. During that time he worked with administrators and instructional coaches to bring different curriculum initiatives to 6-12 grade schools and ensured that there were school supplements such as textbooks available. After spending time working at the SJUSD district office, Craycroft made his return to Pioneer as principal.
“I love being on campuses,” said Craycroft. “I love being around students and having a closer impact with what's happening in the classroom.”
While this is Craycroft’s first year at Pioneer, Assistant Principal of Student Services Tim Gavello, who has worked here for 12 years, has observed Craycroft’s communication and applauds him for his efforts thus far.
“I think he has stepped into the role and done a fantastic job communicating with the admin team on his expectations and also communicating that with the staff,” said Gavello.
Matt Coelho, 10, has had Craycroft substitute for multiple classes due to the ongoing substitute shortage.
“I like Mr. Craycroft, from the times I've spoken with him. He seemed very positive and driven toward making the school the best it could be,” said Coelho. “I have had him fill in for multiple of my teachers and he seemed very excited to help out where he could around campus.”
Math teacher Whitney Goodman appreciates Craycroft’s approach to handling conflict at school as well his communication with faculty, students and teachers.
“I like how quick he is to respond to things and I like how professional he is,” said Goodman. “I like how he’s made his presence known. He’s outside at lunch, he’s walking around, he’s saying hello to the kids, he's popping into classrooms.”
In October, advanced drama will be putting together a production of “The Music Man,” where teachers and staff will be the main characters and the advanced drama class will play the background characters. Craycroft, along with several other faculty members will be participating in the production this year.
“I’m learning about the culture and the school itself because every school is different,” said Craycroft. “I’m in the school play this year. So I’m jumping in with both feet.”