Although Ralph Crame will not officially be Carlmont’s new principal until July 1, he has been getting ready to take on the role and say goodbye to Lisa Gleaton, who will be stepping down as Carlmont’s principal.
Crame considers his time at Carlmont a part of the preparations that led him to this point. He said, “The eight years that I’ve spent as an administrator have given me the experience and understanding of what it takes to be a principal. I’ve worked with four or five principals in my entire career, and seeing their duties has prepared me.”
Students and staff alike have expressed their approval of Crame’s appointment as Carlmont’s new principal.
Junior Gabi Dimick said, “I am really excited for him to become principal. He is very supportive of the students at Carlmont and he is constantly working to give the students the best opportunities possible. It’s clear that he is really caring, and I think that is an important quality for a principal to have. I think he will do a great job.”
In addition, geometry, AVID, and AP Calculus teacher Andy Ramroth said, “The staff and I have high expectations for Crame, and I’m sure that he’ll meet and even exceed them.”
Crame does not intend to let the staff, students, and parents down. Although he does not plan to make any major overhauls, he does plan on doing what he can to make Carlmont even better.
“I don’t intend to change anything drastically. We have an excellent program offering for students. One area that I do think we could improve is a way to get students who are not necessarily AP-bound community college credits for certain classes,” he said.
Crame also plans on looking more into increasing career pathways and implementing more programs like the BioTech Institute, which has a small learning community and preparation for careers outside of high school.
Crame is known around campus for his friendliness, and he hopes to maintain that when he becomes the principal. “I want to be an approachable principal. I want to listen and be here for everybody, and make sure that everyone knows that this is a team effort. The staff is awesome and the students are wonderful, so I want to make sure that we’re going through this together.”
Although he works nearly around the clock, Crame always makes sure to make time for himself and for his family.
“I work a lot. Even during spring break, I was looking at the numbers for next year because I’m still instructional vice principal, so one of my duties is to make sure that we have the appropriate classes and staffing. But when I’m not working, I like to be active. My family and I go to the lake a lot, and I like water sports and wake boarding. In general, I just love spending time with my family,” he said.
With the experience and support that Crame has, many people believe that Carlmont will grow to be even better under his leadership. In the upcoming school years, Crame hopes to work hard to make that a reality.
