Principals of the Past

	PRINCIPALS OF THE PAST
Sr. Maureen Glahn, CDP 1951 - 1964	Sister Maureen Glahn, CDP, was the first principal of Providence High School, which opened in September, 1951. She guided the academic and extracurricular life of the school until she died suddenly after a brief illness on December 20, 1964. Totally dedicated to Providence High School, Sister Maureen was noted for her insistence on high standards of excellence in all areas. She was pleased when students did well, not only for the school's good name but also for the young woman's growth. However, she was relentless when improvement was needed. One of Sister Maureen's major goals was for the school to have its own gymnasium. She began the "gym fund," which became the focus of major projects for years, She did not to live to see the achievement of her dream, but she was very much present in spirit when the gym was dedicated in her memory on March 12, 1966. The Providence High School community commits itself to maintaining the high standards that Sister Maureen set in 1951.

Sr. Adrienne Marie Schmidtzinsky, CDP 1964 - 1965	Sister Adrienne Marie served as interim principal at Providence High School from 1964-1965 while holding down the position of school counselor. Sister Adrienne entered the field of education in 1940 by teaching in elementary schools in Texarkana, Arkansas. She ministered in small Texas communities like Schulenburg (Principal at Bishop Forest High School, Abilene and Rowena), and she also taught in Broussard, Louisiana and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sister Adrienne has spent the last 29 years as business teacher and support services to the administrative offices at Providence High School. Sister Adrienne Marie Schmidzinsky is a native of Fredericksburg, Texas.

Sr. Marguerite Stelly 1965 - 1967	Sister Marguerite Stelly, a native of Lota, Louisiana, did her first ministry at a mid level elementary school in Pasadena Texas. The next position was at Providence Central High School, Alexandria where she taught math and French. In 1961- 1967 she served as principal of Providence High School, San Antonio. Other positions were at Central Catholic, Abilene, Texas and St. Anne's Elementary School, Houston, Texas. She returned to Louisiana as Noeli Stelly and took positions in public school educational leadership in Morrero, Louisiana.

Sr. Bonaventure Jordan 1967 - 1970	Sister Bonaventure Jordan was an educator and leader in many Texas elementary schools. In 1949, she became principal at St. James High School, Alexandria, where she was administrator for six years. From there she took on the position of principal in St. Augustine, Laredo, Ponca City, Oklahoma and at Providence High School, 1967 - 1970. At Providence she initiated the modular individualized teaching and learning program. Later Sister moved into educational support services in Laredo and in San Antonio. She also spent a year in Writing Assessment for the Psychological Corporation in San Antonio. Sister was a native of Fredericksburg, Texas.

Sr. Emily Rabalais 1970 - 1976	Sister Emily Rabalais served as teacher and principal in several elementary schools in Houston, Lafayette, Louisiana and San Antonio. In 1970 she took the position of high school principal at Providence in San Antonio. She concentrated on updating the curriculum, developed the modular program and extended the fine arts program. After six years, in 1976, she became the Assistant Dean at the Oblate School of Theology and worked in family ministry for the Archdiocese of San Antonio. Eventually, her ministry took her to West Germany where she taught religious education for the U.S. Military, and was the Director of Lay Ministry Development for all of Western Europe. On her return to the U.S. she became a Chaplain for the Methodist Hospital in San Antonio until her medical retirement. Sister Emily Rabalais was a native of Alexandria, Louisiana

Sr. Antoinette Billeaud 1976 - 1982	Sister Antoinette Billeaud succeeded as principal in 1976 - 1982. Her first teaching assignment was at Our Lady of the Lake High School where she taught business and theology. She continued with business education at Providence Central High School, Alexandria, Louisiana, Bishop Forest High School, Schulenburg, Texas, Menard High School, Alexandria, Louisiana. She was assigned to teach at Bishop Kelly High School, Oklahoma. After this work she took the position of principal at Providence from or six year 1976 - 1982. In 1988, she became principal at St. Augustine High School, Laredo dedicating time and effort to the growth of the school and development of the technology program. She has served as the Superior General for the Sisters of Divine Providence, San Antonio, Texas from 1999 - 2005.

Sr. Margaret Riche 1982 - 1986	Sister Margaret Riche served as principal at Providence High School, 1982-1986. Her years of experience in mid level elementary education at El Reno, Oklahoma and St. Anne's, Houston prepared her for work at Bishop Forest High School in Schulenburg and Providence High School. After three years at St. Mary's Lawton, Oklahoma, she accepted the appointment of Principal at Providence High School in Alexandria. She was appointed Secretary General for the Sisters of Divine Providence, 1967 - 1973. After completing her work as secretary, she returned to Louisiana where she taught at Holy Savior Menard High School in journalism and English. From that position she moved to Providence High School in San Antonio in 1982-1986. Then she joined Sister the English department at Our Lady of the Lake University for eight years. Her background in journalism readied her for the position of Archivist of the Congregation of Divine Providence, San Antonio, for six years. Presently, she is doing volunteer service. She is a native of Alexandria, Louisiana.

Sr. Alma Rose Booty 1986 - 1992	Sister Alma Rose Booty earned majors in Business Education and School Management. She took the positions in the Business Department at Providence Central High School, Alexandria, Providence, San Antonio and Bishop Kelly, Tulsa, Oklahoma. She accepted the position of principal, St. Augustine, Laredo in 1979. In 1985, she took a sabbatical at Berkeley, Oakland, CA. This was followed by the position of principal at Providence High School in 1986 -1992. She worked at the Our Lady of the Lake Convent Center as bookkeeper and payroll manager. Another two-year stint at St. Augustine as assistant principal was a prelude to taking on the role of principal. Recently, she was hired as Finance Director at Our Lady of the Lake Convent Nursing Center and continues to hold that position. She is a native of Natchitoches, Louisiana.

Sr. Ramona Bezner 1992 - 2000	Sister Ramona Bezner earned her BS at Our Lady of the Lake College and pursued her M. Ed. at Columbia University. She began her teaching and ministries primarily at mid level and junior high schools in San Antonio - St. Henry's, St. Mary's and St. Martin Hall. She served as principal at St.Mary's and St. Martin's Hall where she joined the OLLU Education Department in teacher education training. In 1967, she was appointed as Regional Superior for the Texas and Oklahoma area which opened new experiences in counseling and management. Later, she served as principal at West, Texas and then succeeded as Director of Formation and Ministry Management. In 1992- 2000, she was appointed principal at Providence High School. She is known for her work in faculty formation and the orientation in the adoption of Block Scheduling. Sister Ramona was the last Religious Sister to serve in the leadership position. Presently, she is on the Retirement Leadership Team which is responsible for the health and services for the retired sisters. She is a native of Lindsay, Texas.

Anne Bristol 2000 - 2006	Anne Bristol earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work from Florida State University and a Masters of Art in Education and English from the University of Texas at Arlington. Anne is also a graduate of Ursuline Academy, Dallas, Texas. During her years on staff at Ursuline she was named Teacher of the Year in 1997 and was the recipient of the Dallas Diocese Excellence in Education Award in 1998. Ms. Bristol brought to Providence her energy, impressive resume and rich educational background in Catholic, single gender education. Ms. Bristol has been nominated by the Ex-Students Association of the College of Education at UT for the Texas Excellence Award for Outstanding High School Teachers and recently received an Educators Shape the Future award from Texas A & M University. In the four years Ms. Bristol was principal at Providence High School she motivated the enrichment of the fine arts department, the summer school program and growth in the technology department. She also has facilitated the creation of an internship program, distance-learning opportunities, dual credit classes and an increased number of AP courses.

Sr. Antoinette Billeaud 2006 - Present	Sister Antoinette Billeaud returned to be principal again at Providence.