New Principal at Brookside Lower

The finalized its new principal assignments as the start of school nears on Aug. 22.

Mari Kernan will serve as the new principal at this year, as Marci Trahan moves back to an HR position in the district office. Trahan has been serving as both the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and part-time Principal at Lower over the last two years.

Kernan has taught both elementary and high school in San Rafael for the last 12 years. She has taught fourth- and fifth-grade, served as site literacy coordinator, and for the last two year's was San Rafael's English Language Learner Program Coordinator and Summer School Principal.

Kernan has a BA in English Literature from Arizona State University and an MA from San Francisco State and from University of San Francisco.

Kernan said in a statement that she is "very excited to be a part of the Brookside Lower family and looks forward to working closely with the dedicated staff and parents to provide the best educational program for all of our students."

"I wish to thank the Brookside Lower teachers, classified staff, and parents who participated in the selection process. We have confidence that our process was thorough as we carefully considered all input and reflected thoughtfully on your needs for a new principal," said RVSD Superintendent Eileen Rohan in a press release.

Earlier this summer, , including the hiring of a new principal at Brookside Upper and the moving of Assistant Principal Jason Richardson to the head position at .