Sister Barbara Bray

By Voice staff

Holy Names Sister Barbara Bray has been named interim superintendent of schools for the Oakland Diocese for the 2008-2009 academic year. She is replacing Richard Kruska, who is relocating with his wife to North Carolina in June to be near their daughter who is coping with a serious illness. Kruska had been superintendent for one year.

Sister Barbara has been assistant superintendent of schools for the past 11 years. Prior to assuming that post, she was principal of St. Theresa Elementary School in Oakland for 13 years. She has also been a teacher at Sacred Heart Elementary School in Oakland and principal of St. Bede Elementary School in Hayward.

She will continue her work with curriculum and professional development of teachers in addition to her new responsibilities as interim superintendent, including the development of Pope John Paul II High School in Livermore and the Consortium of Catholic Schools. She has been serving as the bishop’s liaison to the new high school and as an advisor to the consortium.

A group of experienced educators will assist as consultants to the school department as needed.

Kruska has accepted a position as principal of Pope John Paul II Elementary School in Southern Pines, North Carolina. The school is part of the Diocese of Raleigh.

A nationwide search for a permanent superintendent for the Oakland Diocese will begin in the fall.

The diocese has 47 elementary schools and nine high schools in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, serving more than 19,990 students. Pope John Paul II High School will be the first new high school in the diocese since 1965 when three high schools — Carondelet and De La Salle in Concord and Moreau Catholic in Hayward — opened.

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