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Nancy Gagilano with her class |
What are you going to think about in your early 60s? Retirement, right? Wrong, if you’re Nancy Gagilano, a second grade teacher at Banyan Elementary School for the past three years. At the age of 63, she was just beginning to fulfill her life-long dream of becoming an educator.
“I wanted to be a teacher since I was 18 years old,” said Mrs. Gagilano, “but back then girls didn’t go to college much.” Instead, she married her husband, Jim, in 1960 and proceeded to raise a family of five in the Chicago area. Once the kids were all in school, she worked odd jobs to coincide with their school schedules, often serving as a substitute teacher. Her college dream came true in her 40s, when she attended night school and earned a Bachelor of Science degree.
But Mrs. Gagilano never forgot how wonderful South Florida is after having spent a brief honeymoon here. So when her daughter relocated to Broward County, she and Jim followed in 1998. It wasn’t long before she was subbing at Banyan Elementary School in Sunrise. “After working for Bruce Voelkel (Banyan’s Principal) for a while, I asked him if anyone in their right mind would hire me as a brand new teacher in my mid-60s,” explained Mrs. Gagilano with laughter in her voice. “He supported me and was instrumental in me making the choice to enter the education field at this age. How many other principals would have backed me?” After taking more than a dozen courses, she received her professional certificate and, soon after, finished her ESOL classes. She’s been teaching second grade for three years now and “it’s just wonderful!”
“Banyan is a wonderful school with a wonderful staff and some wonderful kids,” says the grandmother of 10. “Second grade is such a perfect grade because most of the students haven’t reached the age of reason yet. They enter my class as babies and leave as young students. I love to see that change!”
Fellow second grade teacher Joe Stapleton is one of Nancy’s biggest fans. “I think Nancy’s unique because when many teachers are contemplating retirement at 63, Nancy was just beginning. I see her as a role model for seniors,” he said. “We both came to Banyan three years ago – me with 24 years of experience and her starting out fresh. We’ve worked together over those years and accomplished a lot, particularly in the areas of departmentalization and technology.” Fresh out of college, Nancy had a leg up on current technology. “Thanks to her, I now do my lesson plans on the computer – something I never did before because it wasn’t something I learned back when I received my training,” he said.
Another advantage to working with Nancy was her willingness to departmentalize their science and social studies classes. “She teaches the kids science and I teach them social studies,” he says. “It’s not a common practice but it’s been very successful for us and our administration supports it wholeheartedly.”
Mr. Stapleton particularly enjoys how “Mrs. G” – as her students call her – interjects personal experiences into her lessons. “Her life stories emerge during her conversations with students; she’s a natural storyteller,” he said. Mrs. Gagilano explained that her experiences as a mother help her connect to her students. “For example, if I catch a child telling a fib, I might tell the class a story about how I once fibbed and it backfired on me. Soon the whole class admits to having fibbed here or there and they see the importance of not doing it again,” she said.
“Nancy’s energetic, extremely professional and full of life,” says Mr. Stapleton. “I hope that I have that much energy at her age!” And as for Mrs. Gagilano, she couldn’t be happier. “This is a great way to spend my retirement years,” she said.
