WARWICK — Pilgrim High School principal and veteran educator Gerald Habershaw has died at age 57.
"All of us in the district and on the committee are devastated," said School Committee member Karen Bachus. "He was an amazing human being, and an amazing teacher and administrator. He really was a one-in-a-million guy."
Habershaw’s younger brother, David, said Sunday that his brother died of complications from COVID-19, which he may likely have contracted at a school dance earlier this month.
“He started feeling ill a couple of days after the dance,” David Habershaw said, “but he was getting better” – though still sleeping about 20 hours a day.
Gerald Habershaw had not been hospitalized and was convalescing at home, his brother said. Saturday he began suffering painful chest pains and a rescue rushed him to a hospital.
Bachus said said the entire Pilgrim High School community is mourning the former principal, who "did so much for our district."
Habershaw had been facing an uncertain future in the wake of a COVID outbreak at Pilgrim, which occurred shortly after the high school's homecoming dance.
Videos of the event showed that Habershaw had not been wearing a mask for the event, which took place inside a tent, and neither had many of the students. As of Friday, the school district would not say if Habershaw had been placed on leave, though an investigation was underway and an assistant principal had been named "acting principal."
Numerous parents and students had spoken up in support for Habershaw, and a Change.org petition to "give Mr. Habershaw his job back" had more than 5,000 signatures by Saturday night.
“Let’s give Habershaw his job back as we stand together and support an amazing teacher, principal and cheerleader for our children,” said the petition, created by parent Erin Ferrazzo. One supporter added, "Mr. Habs would never intentionally do anything to harm his faculty or students."
Habershaw served as principal of Warwick Veterans Memorial High School from 2005 to 2016, then moved to Pilgrim High School when the city's high schools were consolidated.
He was named "Administrator of the Year" by the Rhode Island Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association in 2010, and inducted into Bishop Hendricken High School's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.
“I learned a long time ago that I was put on this earth to help kids,” he told The Providence Journal in 2016.
"We are shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Gerry Habershaw," superintendent Lynn Dambruch said in a Sunday statement. "He was a beloved member of the Warwick School Community and a mentor, friend and colleague of us all. Our condolences go out to his family and the Pilgrim Community. Gerry always cared about his students and staff. There will be grief counseling available for students and staff on Sunday from 1:00-4:00 and all day on Monday."
Mayor Frank Picozzi said on Saturday night that Habershaw was "devoted to his students and co-workers. He touched the lives of so many in this city."
"Our condolence, thoughts and prayers go out to his loved ones," Picozzi said in a statement. "The city of Warwick is standing by to offer any support or help needed."
Tributes to Habershaw began pouring in on social media on Saturday night.
"Habs was a great guy who taught so many of us how to be tough on the court, and how to be positive influences in the schools and community," wrote one basketball player Habershaw had coached.
Another added, "He is what made Pilgrim so special."
With staff reports by Tom Mooney
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Warwick Pilgrim High School principal Gerald Habershaw dies
Pilgrim High School principal Gerald Habershaw dies unexpectedly - Yahoo News
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