“I leave knowing the school’s in good hands,” 19-year GTECC principal says
By Krista Cerminaro
Principal Wendy Crawford said farewell to 19 years at Grenloch Terrace Early Childhood Center on Friday, March 23, as she takes her next steps toward retirement — and while she’s feeling a combination of excitement for the next chapter, and nostalgia for the last — Crawford said she’s mostly feeling thankful for the opportunities she’s had along the way.
“I’ve worked with great people in all three districts, and I’m thankful to Rowan, because I learned so much at Rowan — Rowan really opened up doors for me that wouldn’t have been opened,” said Crawford, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Rowan University in 1975, a master’s degree in 1979, and her educational specialist degree in 1988.
Prior to starting her career in Washington Township, Crawford also worked in both the Egg Harbor Township and Cherry Hill school districts.
Since 1999, though, Crawford has created those lasting first impressions on preschool and kindergarten students and parents coming to GTECC to start their educational journey.
“I wanted to come to Grenloch, because I wanted to be where you get a chance to make that first impression — because you can never make a second first impression,” Crawford said. “Meeting parents and children for the first time in preschool and kindergarten, to me, was a great time to make them feel excited about school, and make parents feel welcome into the district, and that we’re going to keep your children safe — which we work really hard, that’s the №1 priority.”
Crawford credited her predecessor, Will Downham, along with her staff for creating and maintaining the nurturing and welcoming environment GTECC embodies.
“We’ve worked really hard to make positive changes over the years in the way we orient the children. We added bus tours, which were an exciting thing — that children get to ride a bus with their parents and come to school in the spring before they start, and that allays a lot of the fears that both children and parents have about getting on that big bus,” Crawford explained.
“Our children come skipping, and smiling, into school — it’s just great to see they really want to be there. If you stand in the right spot on bus duty, you’ll get lots of hugs — it’s a great place to start your day,” she delighted.
Although Crawford will begin her next chapter, the book has not been closed — Crawford said she leaves knowing the school is in good hands.
GTECC will welcome its new principal, Christina Cox, on April 2.
“I feel great about Christina Cox coming in and taking over the school, so that’s a really good feeling. It’s a little bit like when you leave your child with their first babysitter,” Crawford joked. Cox is a special education supervisor for preschool through fifth grade, and oversees seven schools within the Washington Township school district.
Cox said her main goals as principal will be developing relationships with parents, really getting to know students and staff and continuing to enhance the culture and community that’s already been established at GTECC.
“Being able to make those relationships, having a greater impact, having that footprint with the staff and the parent for me is most important,” Cox explained.
Cox’s love for early childhood education was seemingly apparent when she was just a child herself.
“This has always been my dream job — when I was in pre-school, they had to pick what you would be when you grew up, and my job that they picked for me was that I would be a future principal. It’s interesting that that’s actually happened for me,” Cox said. “But, I’ve always said that if I could ever be a principal, it would be [at] Grenloch. I have a true passion for early childhood education.”
Cox has also worked at Birches Elementary School and Bells Elementary School in Washington Township.
“Just to be able to be that foundation for the children where they grow their roots — and really be able to focus on the whole child — is a joy for me,” Cox said. “That’s an age where you can achieve that, really grow those roots and develop those relationships with parents [and] get them to love the district that they’re in.”
