Published: August 19, 2008 04:00 am         

Saint Mary's names principal

The newly appointed principal at Saint Mary's School said Monday that getting the job is "like a dream come true."

Patricia Bliss, 54, was appointed in mid-July to replace John Burkhart, who retired after serving five years at the Roman Catholic school, officials said. A diocese official contacted Monday wouldn't disclose salary information.

"To be able to continue my mission and return to my roots is very exciting," Bliss said about working at the only Catholic school in Otsego and Delaware counties.

Bliss decided in January that she would retire from a career in education at the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., and move back to upstate, she said.

The Cooperstown native wanted to remain in education but be closer to family in the Cooperstown area. She is one of eight children "" six sisters and two brothers "" she said.

Bliss is currently living with family in Cooperstown.

She said she was thrilled when she applied for the job in May and got it.

"I feel like the circle is complete," she said.

Bliss brings 16 years of experience as a junior high math teacher and 12 years as a principal, the latter in a school in the archdiocese that had an enrollment of about 250, she said. There are about 125 students enrolled at Saint Mary's in prekindergarten through sixth grade. The school dropped seventh and eighth grades beginning with the 2006-07 school year.

Terri McGraw, assistant superintendent for instructional services with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, said Bliss brings a wealth of experience in Catholic education.

"We are pleased to have her bring all those gifts and experiences," McGraw said.

"The school has an incredible staff of dedicated teachers," she said, and in the short time she has been there, "I've met many families that are very supportive and encouraging."

Enrollment is one area that she will be working on, she said, as it's an issue that all Catholic schools are facing. But the facility offers an excellent academic education, she said, as well as "an opportunity for children to celebrate their Catholic identities in all aspects of their lives."

Bliss is a 1972 graduate of Cooperstown High School. She received her Bachelor of Science in education from the State University College at Cortland in 1976 and her master's degree in education from the State University College at Oneonta in 1988.