Parents Bid Farewell to Erica Gilbert Friday

Friday is Gardner Bullis principal Erica Gilbert's last day.

She leaves after four years to take a principal's job at Belmont-Redwood Shores School District, closer to home, said Los Altos School District Superintendent Jeff Baier.

Baier will be on hand at the 8:45 a.m. Coffee With the Principal event in the school's library to meet with parents and talk about their ideas and visions for the school. Lynda Eckols, the interim principal, will also be on hand. 

"She is a very warm principal, loved by many and will be missed," said parent Heather Rose

Rose said they are bringing Gilbert a small gift, but a useful one: Her own "memory book" of the school, a slideshow on an electronic frame.

Gilbert wasn't available to speak to Patch, but on EdModo, a school community site she described herself this way: "Principal at Gardner Bullis School. Re-opened the school site in 2008. I have the BEST staff I have ever had in my 13 years as a principal."

On Tuesday, she begins at the at her new school, Sandpiper Elementary School. In an Aug. 23 blog post titled "Happy Decisions" by Belmont Redwood Shores School District Trustee Brian Matthews wrote, "She is the type of Principal who will empower her staff, develop the community, support the Sandpiper PTA, and help School-Force. I’m guessing she will know most, if not all, of the students by name in no time."

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