The principal of Access Academy, Portland Public Schools' program for highly gifted students, abruptly resigned last week, leaving parents in the tight-knit community stunned.

It was an unusual exit, just a month before the end of the school year.

David Wood left so suddenly, there wasn't even time for a goodbye.

Wood sent a farewell message to families through Facebook.

The district message informing families acknowledged the news was jarring and followed up with this puzzling line: "Please know that we do believe this change is best for your students."

Assistant Superintendent Antonio Lopez did not respond to requests to comment on the situation or explain why he'd told parents it was best that Wood immediately stop being the school's principal.

Wood's Facebook post said he made the decision with "a heavy heart."

"Like others in this role, I have struggled to balance the demands of family with this wonderful but all-consuming job," Wood wrote. "As a consequence, I have recently not felt as present and supportive of our amazing teachers and students as I believe they deserve. My family and my health have been affected. Under these circumstances, I believe it is best for our teachers and students for me to step aside."

Parents were told to direct questions to Karl Logan, the senior director that oversees that school, and he has told some of them that he can't say much because it is a personnel matter and under "HR review."

David Wood

It is unclear what an "HR review" is. Logan has not responded to a request to explain what this process entails or what situations prompt it.

Access Academy serves gifted students in grades one through eight and is currently housed at Rose City Park in Northeast Portland. Its 360 students share the space with some students from Beverly Cleary K-8 whose classes were pushed out of that school by overcrowding.

The school is the subject of a federal civil rights complaint earlier this year. Three families have alleged the gifted program lacks transparency and discriminates against students with disabilities.

Nicole Iroz-Elardo, one of the parents who filed the federal complaint after exhausting the district complaint process, said she had been told the civil rights matter had nothing to do with Wood's departure.

"We do not believe it is a building administrator issue and see no connection with Mr. Wood's departure," she said.

Wood was not named in that complaint. In it, parents took issue with district oversight, not school-level management.

Wood has not responded to phone calls or emails from The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Wood's note to families said he had told a handful of people in confidence this would be his last year, but did not say why he had to leave immediately and with only a few weeks left in the year.

"I believe it's time to reconnect with my family, and, in a little while, to return to the classroom as a teacher, where my heart first lies," Wood wrote.

Wood has been with the district since 2007, starting as program administrator for the night school program Portland Evening Scholars. In 2009, he became the program administer for high school curriculum and the next year was promoted to assistant director of high school curriculum. He worked as an interim principal at Skyline K-8 and Peninsula K-8, where he also worked as an assistant principal.

He had been with Access Academy since 2013, starting out as assistant principal. The next year he was promoted to principal and made $120,000.

— Bethany Barnes

Got a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email Bethany: bbarnes@oregonian.com