There will be some shuffling of principals in the Kent School District as four Covington schools will have new principals effective July 1.

Miles Erdly will take over as principal at Covington Elementary. Erdly will take over for Wayne Watanabe who had served as interim principal at Covington Elementary.

Steve Beck, principal at Mattson Middle School, retired and Tammy Unruh will take over.

At Kentlake High, Diana Pratt will be leaving and Joe Potts, who had been an assistant principal at Kentwood High, will take over as principal.

Potts has been at Kentwood for five years, according to Principal Doug Hostetter, and “is intelligent, organized and cares deeply about students.”

Hostetter said in an e-mail, “He will be a good principal due to his outstanding ability to collaborate with staff in order to design programs which effectively meet the needs of students. Joe will bring with him a strong knowledge of curriculum and instruction and a passion for reaching and teaching all students. Kentlake High School will flourish under Joe’s steady hand of innovative leadership.”

At Cedar Heights Middle School, Heidi Maurer will be principal, stepping in for Angela Grutko. Maurer will be coming from Kentwood where she served as an assistant principal for the past seven years.

Hostetter described Maurer as “meticulous in her planning and preparation. Heidi’s work at Kentwood has contributed to the establishment of a culture of competence in all of Kentwood’s programs. When Heidi is given a task she exceeds expectations in her design, management or implementation of a given program.”

Maurer has what it takes to be good principal, Hostetter added, because she cares about every student that she is responsible for.

“She has an attitude of failure is not an option when it comes to motivating both staff and students,” Hostetter said. “Heidi’s experience, knowledge, and expertise will immediately pay dividends for the staff at Cedar Heights Middle School.”