Schools

Outgoing Pattonville High School Principal Talks To Patch

Dr. Sara Keene announced her departure for Texas earlier this year.

Sara Keene continued boxing up her office Tuesday morning. The outgoing principal is moving to Houston. Her husband received a job transfer, and .

Keene served as Pattonville High’s principal for three years, coming from a school in Columbia, IL. Her last school had only 550 students, she said, which required her to wear a lot of hats as principal.

She did everything from salting the parking lot to helping kids in the food line at her last school, she said. At Pattonville, she was able to work more closely with assistants and utilize their leadership skills.

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Keene said also that Pattonville had many more tools for student learning than her previous school.

Now that her time at Pattonville is ending, Keene said she will miss being part of the Pirate family. She loves the community spirit at Pattonville High.

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“And I have felt so welcome here,” she said, “And loved being a pirate.”

Keene started her education career as a high school history teacher at Collinsville High School in Collinsville, IL. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), with a minor in mathematics.

Later she earned her master’s degree in education administration, also at SIUE. She went on to earn a doctorate in education leadership at Saint Louis University.

While Keene was not part of the hiring process for the incoming principal,, she said she is a big supporter.

“Joe is highly qualified for this position,” she said. “He is going to do a great job.” 

As Keene moves on, she said her immediate focus is helping her family adjust to life in Texas. She wants the transition to be as smooth as possible for her three young children. Keene is confident she and her family will stay active once they move south. 

“They (my children) already keep me busy,” she said, “And I know when we transition to Houston we’ll find all sorts of activities to keep us busy.”


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