Professional Partner of the Month: April 2009
Kate McGrail-Peasley
"I believe Kate's philosophy is that we can reach and touch all students no matter what the circumstance or situation. She truly believes all students deserve an opportunity to learn and grow in an environment free from bullying and worry."
- James Orichosky, Principal, Wingate Elementary School
"Usually every morning there is a group of students outside of her office door anxiously awaiting her arrival. They love to spend time with her and she frequently schedules "lunch bunches" with students. Every morning, students will invariably be heard saying, "Is it my turn yet for our lunch bunch?"
- Tricia Day, School Psychologist, Bald Eagle Area School District
"Kate believes that we do whatever we need to do to help the children that we serve…. She truly believes that it takes a village to raise a child and that the school plays a huge part in helping in that important task. She challenges the rest of our staff to think of how we can accomplish our sometimes endless jobs to make our students' lives better."
- Marsha Sackash, Elementary Director of Bald Eagle Area Schools
"She consistently sends kids to our camp program year after year and is great at doing the follow-up with her referrals. She is very dedicated to her job and to her students and The Second Mile is lucky that she is so involved with our programs."
- Karen Zawitkowski, Program Director, The Second Mile
Kate McGrail-Peasley is an elementary school counselor with the Bald Eagle Area School District (Centre County), who in her own words, "works with students, parents and staff at the Wingate Elementary School." Judging by the opinions of these very people, however, Kate has truly understated her role. She makes strong connections with many different people - influencing, mentoring, problem-solving with, and generally helping them to improve their situations. Mrs. McGrail-Peasley also gets involved in activities that more indirectly impact children's lives, from community collaborations to curricular work. For all her efforts and effective work in helping others in the Bald Eagle Area School District, The Second Mile is proud to honor Kate McGrail-Peasley as April's Professional Partner of the Month.
Marsha Sackash, Elementary Director of Bald Eagle Area Schools, asked some of the staff at Wingate Elementary School about Kate, and below are a few of their statements regarding her as a professional in their building. Ms. Sackash notes, "I think that they send a powerful message about how Kate has impacted so many lives as an elementary school counselor and community member."
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- She coordinates our character education themes of the month and she makes it fun and meaningful for the children.
- I've never seen her "rattled." She is always pleasant, friendly and asking us (teachers) how she can be of help to us.
- She is soft-spoken and quiet overall, but she is always ready to share a laugh, a chuckle, or a bit of inspiration to the children and the staff.
- Many parents, staff, and children seek her out for advice for themselves or their families. She is someone that will problem solve with you in order to help you find a solution.
- She leads the charge with the PSSA testing and helps us (children and staff) to keep our sanity with this huge task.
- She cares about each person that she meets and she lets them know it not only by what she says but in how she says it.
- She is a leader of the school counseling group and a wonderful mentor to new staff.
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Due to space limitations, we can't list all the incredible things that colleagues have shared about Kate, but here are a few more. James Orichosky, principal of Wingate Elementary School, adds that Kate is an outstanding educator who is more than willing to go the extra mile to ensure students have the tools they need to be successful. She organizes a giving tree with outside organizations during the holiday season, and organizes a monthly luncheon to honor students who earned the award for understanding the current theme of the month (such as citizenship or honesty). On a different level, Mr. Orichosky notes that the Penn State Internship liaison insists on placing student counseling interns with Mrs. McGrail-Peasley because of the top-notch mentoring they'll receive from her, typically leading to excellent and timely job placements. School Psychologist for the District, Tricia Day, adds that Kate "is the epitome of professionalism….a skilled counselor who spends the majority of her time doing individual and group counseling. She is loved and respected by the students, as well as by parents and staff."
Mrs. McGrail-Peasley clearly helps many others, from students to fellow staff. But what motivates her to work so diligently? For one thing, she gets satisfaction when she's able to help students successfully negotiate some of life's challenges. She also looks forward to meeting with students each day, especially "being able to see the world through their eyes, as it can often be very refreshing!" Ms. Sackash thinks that Kate finds fulfillment not only from making a difference for children on a day-to-to-day basis, but also in thinking long-term, and planning ahead for ways that their school program can improve to meet the needs of children. She cites Mrs. McGrail-Peasley's work with the counseling team at the district level as an example:
| | "She works to help make any curricular, policy, procedural or other changes relevant for all children, not just a few. I think that solving problems gives her a great deal of satisfaction when it benefits the children or adults that she works with each and every day." |
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McGrail-Peasley clearly enjoys the collaborative nature of her work, because interestingly, despite all her efforts in helping others, she's hesitant to take credit, instead preferring to praise a colleague or student. Ms. Sackash articulates this tendency:
| | "Kate always talks about how much ‘we' have accomplished whether it is the school counseling group, the Wingate Staff, a group of students and/or parents or a district level committee group. She will say that even if she is the one that did the work. She is quick to offer support but slow to take credit for that support or work. She doesn't feel the need to be acknowledged publicly for what she does because she feels that is what she is supposed to be doing….helping others. She will drop everything to do what she feels is the right thing to do…..to help, to make children's lives better in some way." |
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In addition to this great modesty, McGrail-Peasley possesses the knack to network effectively and find outside resources. She has faithfully sent campers to The Second Mile's Challenge Program each year, and does tremendous follow up with them, meeting after the summer break to "hear about their adventures" and to use the goals they set in the program as a framework for her meetings with them throughout the year. She also utilizes the monthly newsletters and mailings as tools to connect with her students. Additionally, McGrail-Peasley refers students to The Second Mile's Friend Program, and uses Nittany Lion Tips as rewards for the students doing well in her Character Education Program. She adds that "many times the messages on the backs of the sports cards help to reinforce these concepts." With the Children's Fund at her disposal – perhaps to help her purchase a uniform or pay a registration fee for a student in need – Mrs. McGrail-Peasley maximizes resources such as The Second Mile in order to maximize the positive impact on students.
Besides utilizing The Second Mile, McGrail-Peasley collaborates through her work on the Centre County Communities That Care (CTC) Prevention Board, where she brainstorms with colleagues and shares ideas, information, and other resources. She has a particular interest in the PATHS program and how it can impact students in learning positive social behaviors, and overall, has leveraged her participation in the CTC group to help meet the needs of students in the Bald Eagle Area and other schools within the local communities.
McGrail-Peasley understands that despite all the support that's out there for children and families, new challenges arise or old ones evolve, and they need to be constantly addressed. For her, the most significant challenges are the ones that face many of her students every day like divorce, death or loss of a loved one, poverty, bullying, and deployment of family members to different parts of the world. One thing that may help keep her grounded is her favorite quotation, from Goethe: "Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being." It's obvious that she takes these words seriously, and tries to live them daily.
When not at school, Mrs. McGrail-Peasley can be found on her small farm which she lives on with her husband, and where they keep chickens, sheep and cats. They have a son, 27 and a daughter, 25, both of whom are married, and one "adorable" granddaughter who just turned two. Kate enjoys gardening and reading, and has met with the same crafts group once a week for the past 29 years. She notes, "We don't do a lot of crafting anymore, but I feel lucky to have such warm, strong, caring and funny women in my life."
One word that she uses about others, above, that aptly describes Kate McGrail-Peasley, is warmth. Many of her co-workers and the children with whom she works talk about feeling lucky to know Kate, and to have her in their lives. James Orichosky wrote, "I am thankful daily to have her at Wingate Elementary and know this is a better school because of her." Central Pennsylvania is lucky to have such a warm, caring person as Kate McGrail-Peasley in its midst, and The Second Mile honors her as its April Professional Partner of the Month.
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