By Jessica Easthope
St. Elizabeth Catholic Academy in Ozone Park, home to the largest Pre-K program in the Diocese of Brooklyn, is welcoming some exciting changes this school year.
After 10 years as the Pre-K Director, Josephine Giudice is stepping into her new role as the school’s principal.
Giudice reflects on her years with the youngest students, sharing how working with 3- and 4-year-olds taught her patience and helped her see the world through their eyes.
Now, as principal, she continues to nurture many of those same children—nearly 200 students from Kindergarten through 8th grade—who once filled her Pre-K classroom.
“Looking at these students, I feel like they’re all my kids now,” she said. “As a mom, I ask myself, ‘How can I help each child?’ and that shapes my approach every day.”
One of her goals as principal is to reignite parental involvement in their children’s education and faith, a quality she found most present during the Pre-K years but often missing in upper grades.
She emphasizes the importance of working together to strengthen the Catholic school community.
To foster a deeper connection, Giudice plans to engage directly with students—both in the classroom and in the church—encouraging them to take ownership of their faith through hands-on activities like food and clothing drives.
“We don’t want students to participate just because they have to. We want them to be excited about their faith, to be involved, and to give back,” she explains.
For many students, Giudice was their very first teacher, and even as they grow and branch out, she remains a steadfast presence—a guiding figure rooted in their early years at St. Elizabeth.