April 1 will forever hold a place in P.S. 58’s heart and history as the school and residential communities came together to co-name their street block after former principal Giselle Gault McGee.
McGee was the school’s principal from 2006 to 2014, during which time she provided school-wide enrichment through ballroom dance, chess, and storytelling through ballet and opera. She also was one of only three forerunners in the NYCDOE to launch a French-English Dual Language Program and grew the school from 330 to 975 students. McGee was made a Knight in the Order of Academic Palms in 2009 by French Ambassador Pierre Vimont for her work with the dual language program. She also received the Label FrancEducation, a prestigious award given by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a formal recognition and accreditation to schools providing a French bilingual program. At that time, only eight schools worldwide had received the award, including two New York recipients.
McGee was diagnosed with ovarian cancer shortly before her planned retirement and passed away in Dec. 2017. Enough signatures were collected to rename the corner of Carroll and Court Streets, in honor of McGee’s life and legacy at the school, a little more than year later.
A performance by the student orchestra (led by music teacher Sarah Alden) kicked off the afternoon’s celebration, before Principal Katie Dello Stritto addressed the crowd filled with educators, students, parents, and McGee’s family and friends.
“In her words she always said, ‘Put your family first.’ I don’t think I realized that at the time, but what she meant was put others first,” Dello Stritto said. “We were all her family, and we all continue to be her family today.”
She also added that not only did McGee teach her about education, but she also shared her wisdom about coupons. “The woman never had a shortage of coupons,” Dello Stritto said, to which many laughed and smiled.
Superintendent of Community School District 15 Anita Skop, who became friends with McGee after coming to the district in 2009, called McGee a “visionary leader.”
“What impressed me most about her was her kindness and loving heart and the joy that she brought to education,” Skop said. “She he didn’t just have a vision; she had the ability to inspire people and make wonderful things happen for her children, teachers, the families in her care.”
2016 alumna Mattingly Glazer also shared her fondest memories of Giselle, who often spent time with her after school while waiting to be picked up.
“Most days Giselle would invite me into her office and offer me a seat at her table. I felt so important – not just to be in her presence, but because she took the time to sit with me, talk with me and help me,” Glazer said. “But what I loved most was our talks; she would ask questions and really listen. She sought my feedback to get an inside look at what kids really thought about what was going on at P.S. 58. I loved being her private focus group and remembered thinking how amazing it was that our principal wanted to hear our students.”
After the shiny green sign was unveiled to much applause, McGee’s husband Stephen took a few moments to thank those who had helped to make this day possible. He also recalled that the day prior, March 31, was their wedding anniversary.
“Probably one of our first fights as a couple was when she said on our honeymoon, “Listen when I get back to work, they’re having a spring carnival. I couldn’t invite everyone to go to the wedding with the faculty and the students, but I’d like to have them all see me in my wedding dress,” he explained to the crowd. “So, when we got back, we went to the spring carnival – me in my tuxedo and her in her gown. It was tough.”
After he and the crowd laughed at the memory, Stephen added, “Obviously, with everybody here today, she made everybody feel well, needed and appreciated – and I know you all made her feel that way too.”
The ceremony closed with everyone singing “Happy Birthday” to Giselle, who would’ve turned 64 that very day, in both English and French. Attendees, who wore McGee’s favorite color orange in her honor, also had the opportunity write birthday cards and notes of remembrance for a display (later presented to McGee’s family) and ate cookies in a cookie swap, which McGee was famously known for during her time at P.S. 58.
Top photo of P.S. 58 faculty with McGee’s family, while holding the newly minted sign. Photo by DeGregorio.
Author
George Fiala has worked in radio, newspapers and direct marketing his whole life, except for when he was a vendor at Shea Stadium, pizza and cheesesteak maker in Lancaster, PA, and an occasional comic book dealer. He studied English and drinking in college, international relations at the New School, and in his spare time plays drums and fixes pinball machines.
