FIVE QUESTIONS WITH

Dionne De Lancy

Although Librarian Dionne De Lancy isn’t physically in the school’s library this year, that’s not stopping her from helping students at Gaynor foster a love of reading. Starting her librarianship career at the New York Public Library, Ms. De Lancy decided she wanted to try something new. After working at a charter school for a time, she joined Gaynor in September 2013 and quickly became a part of the fabric of the school.

We sat down with Ms. De Lancy for the latest installment of our “Five Questions With…” series to learn more about how she started working at Gaynor and what she loves most about being the school’s librarian.

How did you find yourself at Gaynor?

Before Gaynor, I worked at a charter school, and that school was going through some transitions, so I decided to seek some other opportunities. I saw that Gaynor had a position open, and I read about the school, and I liked what I read — checking out their website and reading about the school, how it was started and everything. I decided to apply, and the rest is history.

What made you decide to be a school librarian?

I used to work at the New York Public Library before, so I started out in public librarianship, which I really loved. But after a while, I just wanted to do something a little different. I thought I would try a school, because while working in the New York Public Library, I also worked with schools in my region. I had a good relationship with a lot of the teachers and the students who would come with their classes for scheduled appointments, but also kids in the community schools that would come and use the libraries in the neighborhoods in which I worked. I just wanted to see what working in a school would be like, so I decided to try that.

What’s your favorite part of your job?

My favorite part... I love introducing kids to books. I love getting them excited about reading.

I love knowing that they enjoyed something I shared with them. I love reading to them. I’ve introduced a lot of kids here at Gaynor to Anansi’s stories, which come from Ghana. They love them. I told them about how my dad used to tell us stories. He was a great storyteller. He loved the Anansi stories, so that was my introduction to those stories. When I found them in a book, I was so excited and wanted to share them with the kids here at Gaynor, and a lot of them love Anansi the Spider stories because of their introduction to it here, so that makes me feel really good. When they ask about it or they want more — I love that.

What has changed at Gaynor over the years, and what has stayed the same?

Definitely what has changed at Gaynor is diversity among the staff and students. I like to see that some of our classes now have a mix of children from many different backgrounds, and I think that’s really so important for all of us to be around people who may be different from us so that we can share ourselves with them and they can share themselves with us. What has stayed the same is the environment. One of the reasons why I stayed at Gaynor is that the environment is just so caring and nurturing and really special. Everyone works so hard for the common goal of giving each student exactly what they need to learn and grow and do their best. I’ve never been at a place quite like Gaynor that really just takes pride in specializing down to the most minute detail for each child. I’m really glad that that has stayed the same, because I think it’s what makes Gaynor stand out from everyone else.

What do you like to do in your spare time when you’re not at the school?

What I’ve been doing lately is I like to walk in the park. I enjoy yoga. I enjoy listening to audiobooks, as well as reading, but I find that I do more listening now because I feel like I’m so busy with everything, that the way for me to get some reading in now is just to listen to a book while I’m doing something else. Pre-COVID, I liked going to concerts, Broadway shows, and movies.

Ms. De Lancy's Book Recommendations:

Because of Winn-Dixie by Katie Dicamillo Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Anansi books

The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson