Keswick Christian picks new leader

ST. PETERSBURG -- Keswick Christian School has hired a new headmaster to take the place of Shirley Owen, who has resigned.

The job has gone to Steven G. Sinclair, 53, assistant superintendent at Heritage Christian Schools in Milwaukee, Wisc. He will begin his new job on July 1.

Sinclair said Keswick's "tradition of excellence and the emphasis on a biblical worldview" attracted him.

He is pleased to have been hired for several reasons, said Sinclair, speaking Friday from the Seminole home he and his wife, Nancy, hope to buy. Among them: He and his wife began their teaching careers at Keswick.

"I taught junior high Bible, and she taught third grade," he said.

Their sons, Matt and Tim, who were born in the area, now live in Seminole and Largo, respectively, with their wives. Sinclair said his wife's family also lives in Pinellas County.

"It worked out very well," he said of being hired for the Keswick position.

Don Crisp, chairman of the board at Keswick, said the almost 50-year-old school at 10101 54th Ave. N is pleased to have found Sinclair.

"Keswick Christian School is a college preparatory school," Crisp said. "Academics are very important to us. One of his specialties is curriculum development. I'm just delighted to have him come in."

Sinclair will be in town until Wednesday, when he will return to Milwaukee to finish the school year.

Mrs. Owen is outgoing head of the school, which has more than 600 students from prekindergarten to 12 and recently underwent a $1.2-million renovation. She has been at Keswick for about nine years.

"I think she is relocating to a different part of the country where her children are living, and there are grandchildren," Crisp said.

"She has been a real blessing to the school and has been extremely well thought of."

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