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Coming back home, but always an educator

A Clearwater native, she moved back from Oregon to become principal of Nativity Catholic School.

By BRIAN WHITE
Published August 12, 2005

BRANDON - The new principal of Nativity Catholic School never thought she would be an educator.

Bernadette Kunnen, 44, went to college in San Diego thinking she wanted to be a lawyer. But she also spent time there working with the Sisters of St. Clare, a Catholic religious order.

One day when Kunnen was 19, a nun asked her if she might like to be a teacher.

"I said "Well, maybe,"' said Kunnen, who grew up in Clearwater.

The nun had to clarify: "No, I meant right now."

Early that morning, a teacher at the sisters' school had quit, and they needed someone to teach second grade.

"I was a warm body," Kunnen said. "They were stuck."

But soon, she had converted from lawschool hopeful to devoted teacher.

"I finished the school year and I completely loved it," she said.

Kunnen returned to the Tampa Bay area, earned a bachelor's degree in religious studies from Saint Leo University in Pasco County and went on to earn a master's and a doctorate in education.

Despite those credentials, Kunnen said she learned the most from being in the classroom as a teacher, not as a student.

"It's nice to have that course work, but it's being in the building that really teaches you a lot of things," she said.

Now she is in Nativity Catholic's building at 705 E Brandon Blvd., hired to replace Sister Irene St. Jean, who led the school for 27 years before she died of cancer in November.

Kunnen began work in July after returning to Florida from Portland, Ore., where she was principal for 10 years at the Madeleine School, a Catholic elementary school.

Nativity, with 53 faculty members and more than 700 students, offers classes from prekindergarten through eighth grade. It is the parish school for the Nativity Catholic Church, which has about 5,000 families registered as parishioners.

Increasingly, Catholic schools are led by lay principals rather than nuns or priests.

At Nativity, only one nun, Sister Pauline, remains. Kunnen said the nuns who led Nativity - and other Catholic schools - for decades are responsible for building the schools into strong academic institutions.

"We are standing on the shoulders of women who did a great job of creating our schools 40, 50, 60 years ago," she said.

Though she is not a member of a religious order, Kunnen is committed to her faith. Her office is adorned with religious images, such as statues of the Three Wise Men and a dove and paintings of angels and Mary.

Kunnen and her husband, Dennis Kunnen, didn't have much trouble finding a home when she was hired at Nativity. They never sold their Oldsmar house when they moved to Portland.

The plan was to return to Florida after having "a little adventure" in Portland. They got that chance, she said. Kunnen's four children, who all now attend the University of Central Florida in Orlando, became avid snowboarders.

"They're really happy to come back and be beach bums again," Kunnen said.

Kunnen grew up in the same neighborhood as her future husband, but he was five years older and she didn't know him well until much later, after they started dating. Though they lived close to each other, they met again in a very different place: the Grand Canyon.

She was pals with Dennis' younger brothers when she was young, and she immediately recognized him as part of the clan when they crossed paths in Arizona.

She said the Holy Spirit guided that chance encounter, and she also credits a higher power with the other key moments in her life, like the day she was asked to fill in for that second-grade class.

"God's hand is in everything," she said.

- Brian White can be reached at bwhite@sptimes.com

AGE: 44.

FAMILY: Husband, Dennis, 49; sons Thom, 21, and Jude, 19; twin daughters Sarah and Hope, 20.

EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree, religious studies, Saint Leo University; master's degree, educational leadership, Nova Southeastern University; Ph.D., education, California Coast University. Graduated from St. Cecelia, a Catholic elementary school in Clearwater, and Clearwater Central Catholic High School.

A TENNIS LONG SHOT: "I love tennis, but I'm terrible at it." Kunnen thought she was good at tennis until she married her husband. His mother was Laura Lou Jahn, later Laura Lou Kunnen, who won three Dixie International titles and played at Wimbledon.

AWARDS: National Distinguished Principal, 2003, awarded by the National Association of Elementary School Principals; Pacific Northwest Principal of the Year, awarded by the National Catholic Educational Association. Kunnen received both awards while she was the principal at the Madeleine School in Portland, Ore.

WHY SHE'S QUICK TO SHARE CREDIT: "You can be the best shortstop in the world, but if the first baseman can't catch the ball, you don't look good."

[Last modified August 11, 2005, 08:56:11]