Longtime Disney Principal Ready For Retirement

For 23 years, Fay Manicke has worked where dreams literally came true -- for her and hundreds of youngsters.

Now the longtime principal of the in Levittown is looking forward to her retirement, which begins next month.

"I've kind of paid my dues," said Manicke, who has worked for the Pennsbury School District 39 years, starting out as a music teacher at Walt Disney in 1973 before moving on to other responsibilities. "It's time to hand over the batton."

The new life of the 61-year-old Yardley resident will include travel with her husband along with her continued avocation as a vocalist.

"I sing with The Philadelphia Singers with the Philadelphia Orchestra," she said matter-of-factly.

Asked about the highlights of her time at Walt Disney Elementary, Manicke didn't hesitate.

"The high point for me is when Diane Disney Miller (Walt Disney's daughter) came for the rededication of the building. It was just a very special day," she said of the event in the 2006-2007 school year.

In 1954, with the school under construction on Lakeside Drive, local students named the facility after the man who was providing them with much of their entertainment.  The next year Mr. Disney visited and over the years made many donations including $500 annually. But when he died in 1966 the check stopped coming.

Manicke wrote to his daughter, who decided the school should get $2,000 a year from the Walt and Lilly Disney Foundation, named after her parents. When she learned from Manicke just how much her father meant to the school, Disney Miller increased that annual gift in the mid 2000s to a whopping $10,000 a year.

"She has been extremely generous with the school," said Manicke

Looking at the changes over her long tenure in the district, Manicke says the job of educators has become increasingly difficult.

"Budgets are getting cut but prices keep going up, and I don't feel parents are as involved," she said. In addition, she said, curricular demands from the state have made it tough on teachers.

The students have changed too,  said Manicke, who earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in music education from West Chester University.

"Nowadays everything has to be electronic for them and I dont think that's a big plus," she said. "The Interent is great for research but I also believe a lot of kids are being robbed of their childhood because of it."

Nonetheless, Manick said she will most miss the children and she is "very optimistic" about the future of Walt Disney Elementary.

"I have a very strong staff here ... and we have parental support," she said. "Hopefuly this fall we'll open a new playground. We've been raising money for five years and close to $80,000 has been raised."