Harriet T. Gray - principal
 

    Lawrence Cook Middle School is delighted to have Ms. Harriet Gray at our school as our principal.  Ms. Gray was born in New Orleans, LA., and grew up in a small town east of New Orleans called Slidell.   She comes from a large family of eight children.  Ms. Gray attended college at Dillard University, New Orleans  and spent her junior year of college on an exchange student scholarship to UC Berkeley where she fell in love with California. Are we surprised!?  After graduating from college, she  returned to California to teach English in 1971, at what was then Comstock Junior High (now Comstock Middle School) in Santa Rosa.  Needless to say, she has been in California ever since.  Interestingly enough, Ms. Gray thought she would stay in California for only two years. She ended up teaching at Comstock until 1996, when she became the assistant principal at Elsie Allen High School where she has been for the past six years.  Since she has been in California, she has attended Sonoma State University and received her administrative credentials there.
        Ms. Gray is the proud mother of a 26 year old son who is now a college student. When she has any spare time, she enjoys spending time with her son, close friends, and her family.  In her spare time she also enjoys gardening, reading,  and going to the movies.  When time permits she  also likes to travel.
        "I am excited about being a part of the Cook Middle School family," declared Ms. Gray.  We are delighted to have her as our principal at Cook.  Please stop by and meet this special addition to the staff.  

     Jay Craney - vice principal
 

    Mr. Craney begins fifth year as vice principal of Lawrence Cook Middle School.  He comes to Cook from Tennyson High School in the Hayward School District where he was freshman football coach.  Previous to this assignment Mr. Craney worked for eighteen years in the Pleasanton Unified School district as a teacher.
       Mr. Craney is a native of the bay area having been born and raised in Oakland.  He received his bachelor of arts degree in history from San Diego State University.  He later obtained his master's degree in curriculum and educational leadership at the University of San Francisco.  Recently he completed his administrative degree at Sonoma State University.
       Last year the students were impressed when the vice principal showed up at school on his beloved Harley Davidson motorcycle dressed as Santa Claus.

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