A former Portland Public Schools principal removed from her position after a student ingested crack cocaine in 2019 is now listed as a kindergarten teacher at a North Portland elementary school.

Diana Madarieta, previously named Diana Kruger, appears on the staff directory at Sitton Elementary School, KOIN 6 first reported on Tuesday, Sept. 1.

A name-change petition filed July 16 in Washington County Circuit Court shows Kruger petitioning to change her name to Madarieta.

The Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC) confirmed to KOIN that the two names belong to the same person, based on her educator license.

PPS has not answered. The district did not respond to KOIN's questions about Madarieta's current employment, her history within the district, or how she returned to a classroom role.

KOIN also reported reaching out to Madarieta on at least two occasions without receiving a response.

The 2019 incident

Kruger served as principal of Arleta K-8 in Southeast Portland. In late October 2019, a third grader at the school ingested crack cocaine that a fourth grader had brought to class and pressured the younger child to eat, OregonLive reported at the time.

Parents said school staff did not call 911 or poison control for about an hour after the child ingested the substance, according to OregonLive's reporting. More than 50 parents contacted PPS seeking action against Kruger, according to KOIN.

Both PPS and Portland police launched investigations. The district removed Kruger from Arleta and reassigned her to a central-office position. PPS Regional Superintendent Esther Omogbehin told Arleta families in December 2019 that Kruger's removal was permanent, OPB reported.

"Diana is still employed by PPS," district spokesperson Karen Werstein told OPB in December 2019, when the district confirmed Kruger would not return to Arleta.

What remains unknown

No public record shows the outcome of the 2019 police or district investigations, or whether PPS took any disciplinary action beyond removing Kruger from the principal role. No source confirms when Kruger transitioned from the central-office assignment to a classroom teaching position at Sitton, or what roles she held in the years between.

The name-change petition filed in Washington County has not been confirmed as granted. The Sitton Elementary staff page was last updated Aug. 24.

The report comes during back-to-school week and as PPS weighs closing between 10 and 20 schools, with a board vote expected in early December.