Herkimer principal among tops in nation

"Any achievements during my career as principal have been linked closely with team spirit," she said. "These changes have come about not by me alone, but because of a very supportive pastor, faculty and school board."

For her leadership at St. Francis, Sister Rosalie has been selected as Distinguished Principal of the Year from New York State by the National Catholic Educational Association's Department of Elementary Schools. She will be honored in April at the NCEA Convention and Exposition in Baltimore.

This is the second year in a row that Sister Rosalie has been recognized for her outstanding work in Catholic education; for 1998-99, she received the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Distinguished Principal Award from the Albany Diocese.

Enjoying her role

"I've really enjoyed it, and I've probably been here the longest of any principal since 1921 when the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet opened the school," she said. "I think no other principal has been here six years. We've always had a Sister of St. Joseph as principal and a sister on staff, which is really remarkable these days."

She is proud that St. Francis remains as the only Catholic school in the county, something which she thinks shows the commitment of Rev. Peter Nabozny, pastor, to faith-based education.

"I've stayed here because I've worked with Father Nabozny all of these years, and he's very supportive of Catholic education," she said. "He supports the school and helps out in any way with advice, but he lets me take care of running the school. We've worked as a team."

Team effort

"We've had a very stable faculty and a caring group of faculty members," she said. "Parents and families have been very supportive through the years and want very much to keep the school alive."

St. Francis currently has an enrollment of 182 students in kindergarten through grade 8, with 42 more children between the ages of 2 and 4 in pre-kindergarten.

Accomplishments

* The survival of the school when four other Catholic schools in Herkimer County have come and gone;

* The construction of a parish center connecting the church with the older school building in 1997; this included a gym, parish offices, conference room, pre-kindergarten, offices, and a faculty and music room;

* The transition of St. Francis from a parish school to a regional school in 1992, including the formation of a school board, with representatives from all eight area parishes.

But she is also proud of getting involved in daily dodgeball matches with students. "I take three groups of children every lunch hour so the teachers can have a break," she said. "I've been doing that since 1985."

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