She was born in Dublin but got to De Leon as fast as she could.  Bernice was a teacher at North Ward through most of the 1930s but, after leaving De Leon, she became the first woman to head a school in the Austin Independent School District.  On October 11, 1992 the newly built Bernice Kiker Elementary School was dedicated in Austin as an overflow crowd of 1,200 witnessed the event.

    Bernice was born about 1904 in Dublin.  She was a graduate of Southern Methodist University and got her Master of Arts degree at Colorado State College of Education at Greeley, Colorado.  She taught school in Dublin (perhaps beginning in 1922) before coming to De Leon.   It is believed that she left De Leon at the end of the 1938-1939 term and moved to Austin.  She took a job as a teacher at the newly opened Travis Heights Elementary in September 1939, became Assistant Principal in 1943 and Principal in 1947.  That event marked the first time a woman had headed up a school in Austin.  She had already taught for 25 years when appointed principal.  She continued as principal until 1970, a total of 48 years in education.

      Miss Kiker moved to Gloucester, Virginia in 1992, the same year the school was named for her.  She needed to be closer to her nearest relatives.  She died on May 28, 1995 in Glouchester at the age of 91. 

Bernice Kiker and her North Ward class around 1938 or 1939.  Miss Kiker is at the back right.