McGehee+Superhawks+Fly+Away

At the very mention of leaving McGehee and New Orleans after eleven strong years for her new job as headmistress of the Katherine Delmar Burke School in San Francisco, upper school head and the heart of McGehee, Kim Wargo, welled with tears.

“You get to a point in your career where you want to stretch yourself,” Wargo said, “you look in the mirror and decide, am I ready for something new?”

This is a decision that has plagued upper school students and faculty since her teary eyed confession after the annual eighth grade play. How will McGehee manage without its essential ingredients, we all asked? How will McGehee survive without the passion of Wargo? How will the Hawks ever last without its spirit, Mr. Cortez?

Being at McGehee for eleven years “you develop lots of relationships,” said math teacher and Hawks leader, Mark Cortez, “People see you as a part of a particular place. That’s a hard tie to break.”

Eleven years ago, Wargo and Cortez, wanting to move beyond Fort Worth, Texas, applied for the same history position at a then unfamiliar school, McGehee. While Cortez snagged the job, a special position was given to Wargo. It is, however, time to move again.

At McGehee, Wargo began teaching seventh grade Louisiana History, ninth grade world history, English and women’s history. After that she moved from U.S. government to the head of the history department to college counseling and finally to upper school head.

Aside from runs on the levee and classic New Orleans restaurants, like August or Dick and Jenny’s, Mr. Cortez and Ms. Wargo will miss the relationships they have made at McGehee. Whether people have known them for just a few years like middle school English teacher Lori Kennedy or since their arrival at McGehee in 1991 like upper school history and global issues teacher, Carolyn Thompson, it is these relationships that will help to carry them through the uncharted waters of California and perhaps their first earthquake.

“I’ll miss most,” said Thompson of Wargo, “aside from her being a dear friend, the fact that I trust her so implicitly.” She was not certain if implicitly was the right word, but implicitly, meaning absolutely, completely, seems to fit Ms. Wargo extremely well.

“Apart from being a coach,” sophomore Sydney Proze said, speaking of Cortez, “Mr. Cortez was our math teacher, history teacher, and advisor to our class when we came back from our evacuation schools… it feels like when Mr. Cortez and Mrs. Wargo leaves that half of McGehee will be gone.”

When asked about Ms. Wargo’s replacement Thompson said, “McGehee needs someone who understands our unique culture at McGehee…pushes us to be the best we can be both in and out of the classroom…understands how important laughter and fun are within a school community …show as much support…as much faith in the students…is willing to sit down with you and puzzle out a problem…never tells us what to do.”

“A good upper school head,” said Kennedy, “needs to figure out the balance between being an advocate for both students and faculty. This person has to be open to dialogue with the McGehee community and trust his/her faculty.” Most importantly, she said, “this person needs to be a hundred percent committed to the mission and vision of our school.”

This is a profile Ms. Wargo has filled with poise and charm. We can only hope her successor will do the same.

Mr. Cortez and Ms. Wargo have “seen a lot off girls come and go.” Ms. Wargo said, “I hope I’ll still maintain those relationships. Knowing you had a small impact on them is something that you cannot replace. I don’t think there is another profession in the world that gets that satisfaction.”

She and Mr. Cortez will say goodbye to the gates, to the traditions, to the people and to the “spontaneity” of the city. Still, even across the United States, they will be a part of McGehee just as McGehee will be a part of them.

“I consider myself an honorary McGehee girl,” said Ms. Wargo.

She, however, is the ultimate McGehee girl. She is a “superhawk,” said Ms. Thompson. Ms. Wargo is undoubtedly, as Ms. Thompson puts it, “the spearhead of the spirit that echoes through our halls.” Indeed, both she and Mr. Cortez radiate their passion for McGehee and their love for their students.

The departure of Mr. Cortez and Ms. Wargo will be difficult for even a McGehee girl to overcome, but, with time, and the imprints of their impact still lingering through the halls and down through the leaves and service learning flyers to the grassy graduation courtyard, McGehee will still remain our McGehee.

“An institution,” Ms. Wargo assures us, “that truly has a center and a mission is bigger than one or two individual people. I hear people talk about McGehee throughout the years and even though the school has changed over time there is a set of values that is constant.” It is up to the students and the remaining faculty to maintain the McGehee mission and legacy. “As long as McGehee stays true to that,” Ms. Wargo said, “one person or even two people leaving, although hard, long term I know that the school will be in good hands.”

So what will Ms. Wargo and Mr. Cortez take from McGehee?

“Everything.”