wellington | schools
A PASSION FOR EDUCATION Elbridge Gale Elementary School’s Principal Gail Pasterczyk Has Led The School Since It Opened
STORY BY DEBORAH WELKY | PHOTOS BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN
While Elbridge Gale Elementary School is located in one of Wellington’s older neighborhoods, it is actually one of the newer schools in the community. Located near the Wellington library, the school has had only had one principal since opening in 2006 — longtime local educator Gail Pasterczyk. With her car buried deep in the snow of upstate New York, Pasterczyk, then a first-year teacher, decided to spend spring break visiting her grandparents in Florida. While here, she decided to apply for some teaching positions and was offered three. “I went back, told my roommate that I was moving to Florida, and packed up immediately after finishing the school year,” Pasterczyk recalled.“I took a position teaching students with emotional behavior disorders at Highland Elementary School. But it was like I wasn’t even working. It was like I was always on vacation because the weather was so beautiful.” When Highland’s program was moved to South Olive Elementary School three years later, Pasterczyk moved with it. After getting married, she moved to Wellington in 1982 and went to work at the newly opened Wellington Elementary School under
Principal Gail Pasterczyk shows off the school’s gardens. A Green School of Excellence, Elbridge Gale Elementary School is home to aquaponic and hydroponic gardens, as well as raised gardens with a garden bed for every grade level.
its legendary Principal Buz Spooner. While there, she coordinated the school’s Exceptional Student Education (ESE) programs and started its inclusion program as well. “That’s where I got the bug for leadership,” Pasterczyk said.“Buz called me his ‘AP for ESE students and teachers.’ So, I went to Nova University and got my leadership degree in 1987.” She next served six years as assis-
tant principal at Manatee Elementary School, and then became principal at Indian Pines Elementary School in Lake Worth. It was then a struggling, Drated school. “When I got there, Indian Pines was one point away from being an F-rated school,” Pasterczyk said. “It took me two years, but I got that letter grade raised to an A and kept it there for the next four years I was at the school.” wellington the magazine | april 2022
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