'A lump in my throat'

By ANGELA CAVE- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

Dr. Cathleen A. Carney remembers her first day as principal of St. Jude the Apostle School in Wynantskill a decade ago. The pre-kindergarten-through-sixth-grade school was struggling with a plummeting enrollment of 94 students.

Dr. Carney came armed with plans for "rebranding" the school, reviving activities and starting an early childhood center.

"I will lead if you will follow," she told the teachers.

Today, as she retires, Dr. Carney can celebrate St. Jude the Apostle's healthy enrollment of 285 (with waiting lists for several grades) and awards for herself and the staff.

Her retirement comes after 39 years in Catholic education in the Albany Diocese, including a decade as assistant superintendent of diocesan schools. She was principal of three other Catholic schools, two of which have closed.

Despite what she termed "reconfiguring" in the Diocese, she believes "Catholic education is alive and well. As long as parents want Catholic schools, there will be Catholic schools. They're looking for schools that make a difference."

Even before the Covenant to Educate, the Diocese's plan for the future of its schools, Dr. Carney was advertising St. Jude the Apostle as having "a distinctively different approach to education," with daily prayer services and weekly Mass.

"I've always been sort of a pioneer," she said. "I would invite everyone to take a look at what we've done here."

Dr. Carney earned a distinguished principal award from the National Catholic Educational Association in 2006 and a similar award at the diocesan level. She called the NCEA award "a feather in the cap" for St. Jude the Apostle School; teachers there have also received diocesan and national recognition.

Dr. Carney attended St. Joseph's School and Catholic Central High School in Troy and The University at Albany.

"I always wanted to be a teacher," she said, "and I credit that to the Sisters of St. Joseph."

She earned a doctorate from Nova Southeastern University in Florida, studying long-distance on weekends and in-person during the summers.

Dr. Carney's retirement plans include pastoral care work for St. Jude the Apostle parish andflute lessons with the band director at St. Jude School.

But saying goodbye to education won't be easy: "I think, when September comes, I will probably feel a lump in my throat."[[In-content Ad]]