MaryBeth Kinkead, Hardy Elementary School’s principal, is leaving to head up Natick’s pre-school program.

Kinkead, who shared the “bittersweet news” with Hardy parents this week, says her top reason for making the move is that she will be working in the town where she lives and her kids go to school. “In my new role, I will be the principal that oversees the Natick Preschool (akin to Wellesley’s PAWS) and is charged with integrating high school early childhood studies into the preschool day in the form of a lab-school internship experience for the teenagers,” Kinkead says.

“Excitement for this new position is coupled with disappointment that I will no longer be a part of the richness and depth of the Hardy community. I have been a teacher or principal in four public school systems and two private; Hardy is unparalleled in its work ethic, commitment to children first, accountability to each other and stamina for persistent forward momentum,” she wrote.

Wellesley’s schools have undergone major turnover over the past year, providing new superintendent David Lussier with plenty to do right from the start. He says his team will move quickly to name an interim principal for Hardy.

Hunnewell Elementary School last month announced an interim principal, while Upham, Fiske and Wellesley Middle School have all recently announced new principals. Last year, Bates Elementary School tapped a new principal as did Schofield Elementary School.