Kunz of St. Rose Named State’s Top Catholic School Teacher

The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops named Schulenburg’s St. Rose School Teacher Donna Kunz as this year’s Elementary School Teacher of the Year.

The Most Rev. Brenden Cahill, Bishop of the Diocese of Victoria, presided over a special Mass last Thursday at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church to bestow Kunz the award. Kunz was supposed to receive the award last month, but due to the historic winter storm, the ceremony was delayed until last Thursday, March 25.

That day coincided with the Feast of the Annunciation, which commemorates the day on which the Archangel Gabriel informed Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus. In his homily, Cahill drew parallels between the work of teachers and that of Mary, who served as Jesus’s first teacher.

After the Mass, St. Rose Principal Rosanne Gallia spoke about the importance of the award. Gallia said Kunz was chosen as the state’s top teacher this year among the thousands of teachers who serve 4,595 Catholic elementary schools in Texas.

“This is a really, really big honor,” Gallia said. “I’m so proud for all of us here.”

Diocesan Superintendent Dr. John Quary praised Kunz for her teaching style.

“No matter how many questions students ask, you answer all of them and make each of them feel special,” Quarry said.

“When I first found out, I was shocked and humbled, because I must have made a difference in someone’s life,” Kunz told the Record after the ceremony. “I’m very grateful.

Kunz began teaching at St. Rose 35 years ago. It was her first teaching job after she graduated from Sam Houston State University, and she never left.

“Teaching is my calling,” Kunz said. “I graduated from Sam Houston on a Friday, moved back home over the weekend, and I started teaching here the following Monday.

“I want to make a difference in the life of kids,” she said. “To make them feel that they are important, they are loved, and that they can go out in the world and realize their full potential, to make them understand that every little thing they do in the world can make a big difference.”