Willow Glen Resident
News
Photograph by Vicki Thompson
Willow Glen High School has a new principal, Shannon McGee. She succeeds Elaine Farace, who retired last June. McGee is a graduate of Willow Glen High and she also lives in the community.
New WGHS principal has the ball in her court
By Mayra Flores De Marcotte
When Willow Glen High School begins this fall, Shannon McGee will enter a familiar setting. The Willow Glen High graduate will be the school's new principal.
"I'm just really excited to be here," says McGee, who also lives in Willow Glen. "Elaine Farace did a lot of great work putting Willow Glen High back on the map, and I would like to build on what she's started."
Like Farace, the school's former principal, McGee is also a Willow Glen High alumna and walking down the corridors of her alma mater brings back memories.
"It brings a smile to my face being back," McGee says.
After graduation from Willow Glen, McGee went to Fresno State University. She received a degree in liberal studies in 1987 and her teaching credential from San Jose State University in 1994.
She started out as a special education teacher at Gunderson High School and then became its assistant principal. She has been working in the San Jose Unified School District for 14 years.
Most recently, McGee was the principal at John Muir Middle School. As the school's principal, she played a pivotal role in the district when Steinbeck Middle School was closed in 2004. Steinbeck students were relocated to John Muir. It was McGee's job to help to ease the transition.
As she walks the campus McGee says, "The school still looks close to how I remember it. The kids, of course have changed, but it's an exciting place to be."
On her to-do list for her first year back, McGee wants to focus on the people she will be working for and working with.
"Building critical relationships is key," she says. "There are fabulous teachers and staff here, and all are really here for the kids."
McGee has been at work as the school's principal for the last six weeks and has begun to meet some of her incoming students through orientations and barbecues. Some of the students look familiar.
Many of my former classmates still live within the community and now their children are enrolled at the school, she says.
"I wonder what those that I went to school with think about me now as a principal," McGee says.
Her classmates most likely remember McGee as an athlete, not someone who would develop into an administrator.
Although her passion for education grew during high school, it was her love of basketball that led her to her first career.
After college, McGee traveled to France to play professional basketball for seven years. It was a logical move at the time.
As a child, she grew up in a sports environment. Her father, Ron McGee, and grandfather, Boots Delbiaggio, were both athletes.
"Athletics were always part of the home," says McGee, who along with her sister played various after-school sports.
McGee returned to college to obtain her teaching credential after seven years abroad. While working on her credential, she also took a job as a high school basketball coach.
"Athletics opened a huge door for me and has been a huge avenue to where I am today," she says.
Team play on the courts taught her what it means to work collaboratively off the courts, and that experience has become an integral part of her philosophy as an educator.
While McGee was at John Muir Middle School, Victoria Ladd and her husband, Vernon, got to know the woman who succees Farace.
"Our son John was there for three years," Vernon Ladd says. "She was very highly respected by parents, students and staff there."
Victoria Ladd, who is the current Willow Glen Foundation allocations chair, agrees.
"She's dynamic," Victoria Ladd says. "She has lots of energy and seems to relate well with the kids."
The Ladds also watched as McGee's involvement at John Muir spilled over into after-school activities.
"The boys team at Muir didn't have a basketball coach," Vernon Ladd says. "Shannon played professional basketball for seven years, and when no one came forward, she stepped in and became the boys' coach."
McGee's connection to the Willow Glen community adds to the general excitement of having her at the high school, Victoria Ladd says.
"She has a commitment to the community," Victoria Ladd adds. "Like Elaine, she's a strong leader. She's just one of those people that has the talent of bringing out the best in everybody."
