The Marcella Green Elementary School was dedicated recently, and the ceremony featured your typical itinerary, including speeches from a former student and co-worker, as well as building tours. 

But one thing Sunday’s dedication had that most do not was that the guest of honor is still on the payroll. Mrs. Green is in her 48th year with Princeton ISD and is teaching this year in the same building with her name on it. 

Green principal Lashon Gales, who came to PISD this year from Frisco ISD to open the new school, welcomed the visitors to the campus and shared what the color green symbolizes.

“It is new beginnings, harmony, hope, trust, wisdom, faith and renewal,” Ms. Gales said. “And many of these describe Marcella so well.”

According to Ms. Gales, Mrs. Green has a talent for sharing her years of wisdom with those around her.

“She makes Green a special place and is Momma Green to so many here,” Ms. Gales said. “We are so glad she is here to leave a legacy for future generations.”

Her former students understand first-hand the legacy Mrs. Green is leaving.

“When I started teaching and coaching, Mrs. Green was the first coworker to give me a hug welcoming me back to Princeton ISD. For a teacher to remember a student who was one of more than a thousand over the course of half a century, you know she is special,” said Colt Collins, who was in Mrs. Green’s 2^nd-grade class at Lacy in 2005. “Thank you, Mrs. Green, for being the kind of teacher that students will always remember and giving me the honor of thanking you on behalf of all your students over the last 47 years. And, thanks to Princeton ISD, for honoring the teachers who make this kind of positive impact on their students by naming schools after them.”

Mrs. Green’s middle child, Bryan, shared on behalf of the Green family and joked about his mom dodging retirement over the years.

“She always said she’d be able to retire early when all her children were out of school,” Bryan said. “Then, when I was 15 and in high school, she got pregnant. We told mom if you didn’t want to retire, just say so. You didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”

He said there have been plenty of signs that pointed toward retirement for Mrs. Green.

“They gave her this job as a dyslexia specialist, then they made her the grand marshal in the Homecoming parade,” Bryan said. “Now they’ve named a school for her, there is nothing else they can do.”

When Bryan’s speech changed in tone from sarcasm to serious, Mrs. Green was on the emotional roller coaster she was trying to avoid.

“There was a reason I chose Bryan to speak because I’d rather him roast me than make me cry,” she said.

But the tears were inevitable.

“Y’all see an amazing educator,” Bryan said. “We see a woman who struggled and fought to do everything she could for her students. When there was a child she couldn’t quite reach, she would come home crying.”

Bryan emphasized she would never stop trying to reach those kids because every student was that important to her.

“Proverbs 31:28 captures her perfectly,” he said. “But it’s not just her children who will rise up and call her blessed and praise her, it’s every child she taught who rises up to thank her because she always saw more in them than they saw in themselves.”

Several of Princeton ISD‘s building namesakes, past, present and future, were in attendance, making for quite the education All-Stars guest list. They were there to offer congratulations to Mrs. Green, who named most of them in her speech as examples who showed her what being a great teacher looked like.

“Back then I was intimidated by all their experience,” she said. “Every one of those people taught me how to be a teacher.”

While her son said “only God knows” when she will retire, Mrs. Green explained her longevity, and it makes sense when you see education through Mrs. Green’s eyes.

“Coming to work at Green is like going to Disney World,” she said. “It’s a joy to walk in the doors every day. The hugs from those children are the heartbeat of my life, and seeing them be a success is all that matters.”