Kindergarten teacher takes over middle school

A South Lake Tahoe kindergarten teacher will take over as principal at Kingsbury Middle School.

Nancy Rollston, a kindergarten teacher at Bijou Community School for the past two years, is the new Douglas school principal.

"It's a new challenge for me because it includes a couple of grade levels I haven't had before," said Rollston, who was a principal with the Los Angeles Unified School District for 10 years. "I'm very excited, and I love Tahoe."

The district has been searching for a permanent replacement for longtime principal Tom Covault, who left Kingsbury midyear due to persistent health problems. Fifth-grade teacher Patty Fore acted as interim principal after Covault's departure.

Fore is moving to Westlake Village, Calif., where she will be teaching fourth grade at St. Jude the Apostle. She said Rollston will be a great asset to Kingsbury Middle School.

"I really know that she is the best person for this school, this staff, this community," Fore said.

Rollston said she is happy to have the chance to work at a small school.

"I'm looking forward to working with the span of ages. I really like the middle school years," said Rollston, who received her doctorate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. "And I think such a nice-sized staff will be interesting. I'm looking forward to finding out about this school and this district and figuring out what we can do together."

Douglas County School Superintendent Pendery Clark couldn't say enough about Rollston.

"I feel very fortunate that we were able to select Nancy as the principal at Kingsbury Middle School," Clark said. "I think she brings wonderful experience to us. She was a teacher from 1968 to 1982. She was a vice principal and then a principal for 10 years. She served as a bilingual coordinator. So she is bilingual, which I think is a tremendous asset for us. And her academic credentials are just exemplary."

Clark said Rollston's recent teaching experiences will add to her qualifications as principal.

"I think it's so refreshing that when she decided to move to the Lake Tahoe area, and there wasn't an administrative position open, she went back to teaching," Clark said. "She said it put her back in touch with all of the different issues teachers deal with."

Rollston said she's had a wonderful year at Bijou, and is anxious to start work at Kingsbury.

"I'm excited about meeting the school, the community, the parents," she said. "I think it is going to be an exciting experience and I'm looking forward to it very much. I think this school has so many wonderful qualities."