Foster Grandparent Program Helping Kids In NYC

Maybe they should just call her Super Grandma.

While she can’t actually fly, for Brenda McGee, Intergenerational Week is not a once-a-year event which this year fell on April 24 to April 30th. The 75-year-old retired teacher has spent her entire life helping kids and fostering intergenerational relationships and her drive did not diminish when the 75-year-old educator stepped down from being a public school teacher in 2015.

She continues to stay in touch with the generations by volunteering for The Foster Grandparent Program run by the NYC Department for Aging, which seeks to tap into the expertise of older workers in new ways.

“NYC Aging’s Foster Grandparents do more than just support our youth, they also reduce ageism by fostering long-term friendships between generations,” said Department for the Aging Commissioner Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez, “The time and dedication Foster Grandparents contribute are invaluable to our city, and each story like Brenda McGee’s, reminds us of the critical importance of our work, and I look forward to hearing more of them.”

The program aims to give New Yorkers aged 55 and up an opportunity to volunteer and provide one-on-one support to children with special needs in schools and school-based settings. The volunteers receive a tax free $4.00 per hour salary and some reimbursements for meals and transportation.

McGee, is a native New Yorker who grew up in Harlem with four sisters. She first had a calling to be a teacher as a youngster. “I heard a friend say once that ‘I think she’s going to be a teacher when she gets older because she’s always got a pencil in her hand,” said McGee. After finishing high school, McGee gave birth to her one and only daughter and raised her as a single mother. While taking care of her daughter at 19 years old, McGee started volunteering at the Department of Education with the Head Start Program. The federal program in NYC cultivates school readiness of children from age three to four from low-income families.

Through volunteering, McGee was able to discover her genuine passion for teaching and working with kids. She had to work multiple odd jobs before she reached positions that allowed her to teach. “I worked at a bank and I did a lot of different jobs. I can’t remember all at this age” she said. Gradually, she was able to follow her calling by working as an assistant director for a preschool program with the Parks and Recreation Department at the Fred Johnson Park up in Harlem at 151st St until it was dismantled in 1995.

After serving in a preschool for 15 years, McGee decided it was time to go to college now that her daughter was all grown up. She went to Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, to study Early Childhood Education. Instantly after graduating in 2020, she started working with Parks and Recreation for a preschool program at Marshall/Luepke Community Center in Vancouver.

Continuing her journey in education, she came back to NYC and worked at the Children’s Village, Dobbs Ferry, as a toddler teacher until she retired in 2015.

She never really slowed down. She is nearing the 50-year mark of working with kids and even after retirement she has been volunteering with different programs, including the Foster Grandparent Program. “I was affiliated with the Grand Parent Around The World Program and someone from the department came in with applications (for the Foster Grandparent Program) and I filled it out, they called me back in about two weeks and the rest is history,” McGee said.

At the Foster Grandparent program, she has been able to focus her efforts on supporting teachers in schools with kids who need extra assistance at P. S. 96 in upper Manhattan.

Some kids for whom English is not their first language, face unique challenges but McGee has a magical ability to navigate such situations.

“Ms. McGee is in a kindergarten classroom and uses her skills and experience as a teacher to ensure the children she works with are keeping up in class,” said Cortés-Vázquez.

At P.S. 96 one eight-year-old who spoke Spanish was facing some extra difficulties adjusting to English. “I did not speak Spanish but you know kindness is universal,” McGee said.

McGee started teaching the youngster her name, which helped her learn the sounds of the alphabet in English. Slowly, she moved onto the alphabet chart where she was able to sound out all the letters, taking an important first step. Similarly, when the young student was struggling with Math, McGee put stickers on her little fingers to help her remember how to count with fingers. “Once the teacher pulled her up, she remembered the structure I had taught her. She went up there and counted out the numbers herself and then looked at me and her face said she was so proud of herself,” McGee said.

McGee has worked with multiple other kids by providing them the patience to help improve their performance in school. She knows that if the kids ever see her passing by on the street, they recognize and appreciate her tremendously. “We need such programs because we have a lot of wisdom and experience that we can pass on,” said McGee about intergenerational connections.