Donna Berkner leaves KAES after 17 years

What she thought was an assembly to distribute yearbooks was actually a tribute to the close of a chapter in the career of a local educator.
Keene Adventist Elementary School principal Donna Berkner was surprised Monday morning when Texas Adventist Conference leaders, former and current school board members, parents and the school’s 244 students honored her for 17 years of service to the school, the last eight as the school’s administrator.
Berkner, who earned a doctorate in educational leadership last month, is leaving KAES to teach in the education department at Southwestern Adventist University.
“God has blessed me for 17 years at KAES,” Berkner said. “His blessings have been amazing. Part of our success is our great school board and teachers. They’ve been wonderful to work with.”
It’s very hard to leave KAES, but she is excited about teaching at the university level, Berkner said.
The surprise was arranged by KAES Home and School president and parent Louann Habenicht and yearbook editor and parent T’resa Weaver.
Habenicht and Weaver paid tribute to Berkner, along with eighth grade president Lindsey Johnson, Texas Adventist Conference president Carlos Craig, conference educational superintendent John Hopps, retired education assistant and former school board member Darrell Beyer, former school board president Mickey Johnson and current school board president Dean Turk.
“We are sorry to see Dr. Berkner leave her position as principal at KAES,” Turk said. “While we are excited for her to begin the next step in her career at Southwestern, she will be missed at KAES. She brought an excitement and fire with her leadership that will be difficult to match. She has been respected by the faculty and staff, and has been great to work with on the school board.”
 Johnson praised Berkner’s commitment to the school and her determination to improve the environment for the students, citing her work in obtaining a new playground for the lower grades and the challenges she overcame to introduce a uniform dress code.
Other accomplishments during Berkner’s tenure are the departmentalization of the middle school, hiring a full-time physical education teacher, hiring a full-time music teacher, upgrading the equipment in the computer lab, installation of a new gymnasium floor and glass backboards, and the purchase of a school  bus.
Berkner joined KAES in 1995, serving three years as first-grade teacher and six years as eighth-grade teacher. She became principal in 2004.
“I want to thank all the board members and parents who had the same dreams I did for KAES,” Berkner said.