Staff Writer
MAPLETON – For 37 years, Gail Gibson has been shaping children’s lives at Mapleton Elementary School; but at the end of the school day tomorrow the principal of the K-5 school will officially retire to help shape the lives of other children … namely her grandchildren, Lucy and Quinn.
“It was time,” said Gibson of her retirement. “I have two grandchildren in Syracuse, N.Y. and they are growing up rapidly and I want to spend time with them. I want to be sure that I’m healthy enough to enjoy my retirement. It certainly wasn’t that I didn’t love my job; but you know when the time is right.”
Teaching has always been a family affair for Gibson.
“When I went to school at the Allagash Consolidated School, at one time, my mother taught there and she was the principal of the school,” said Gibson. “I had two aunts that taught there, and my grandmother was my kindergarten teacher. My father was even the chairman of the school board.
“In addition, my daughter, Kelly Olcott, teaches at Syracuse University. I also have a sister, a nephew and a niece that all teach,” she said. “I always swore I wasn’t going to teach. However, when my mom died when I was 18, she had been such a role model to me, going into teaching was my way of honoring her.”
Gibson started her career in 1969.
“I did my student teaching in Caribou, and ended up teaching special education in Caribou for half a year,” she said. “Then I went to Ashland and taught junior high English for two years, stayed home a year, and then I came to Mapleton Elementary School in 1972.
“I started teaching fifth grade. For one year I taught all subjects, and then after that I team-taught with Len Worthley for many years. I taught language arts and he taught math, science and social studies,” said Gibson. “I always loved it when the students ‘got it.’ When you’re working with a kid and they really crack that code and finally understand what something is about, that always meant a lot. I liked the problem-solving part of it, too … figuring out what it was that a particular kid needed. When I look back, I can look at specific points and specific kids and think, ‘This is the point when this kid got it.’”
Gibson received her junior high English degree from the University of Maine at Presque Isle, and her master’s degree from the University of Maine at Orono.
She said she never intended to become a principal.
“About 13 years ago, the fifth grade was a really small class and we had to downsize. There was going to be a half-time position and one of us was going to have to take it. The other option was going to Skyway Middle School and Superintendent Gehrig Johnson said to me, ‘Do you want to be the principal at Mapleton?’ I didn’t want to leave Mapleton, so I agreed to teach half time and was a part-time principal. I was a teaching principal.”
That year, Gibson traveled at least one night a week to Orono to further her education.
“I would leave Mapleton at 3 p.m., go to Orono for coursework and be home at midnight,” she said. “I did that for a year. It was a long year, but I needed the certification.”
Once Mapleton’s student enrollment went up the following year, Gibson became the full-time principal.
“The role of a principal has changed so much,” she said. “There used to be a lot more time for staff development and working with teachers. Now there’s so many more federal regulations and laws you have to comply with and paperwork. It’s really different.”
Gibson said she never really disciplined children, but rather managed them.
“I finally figured out that the best intervention is diversion,” she said. “You’ve got to have this whole bag of tricks to divert kids when they’re misbehaving. They also don’t misbehave because they want to be bad; they misbehave because they’re trying to tell you something. My job has been to try to figure out what’s going on, and to help that student. It’s all about problem-solving and communication.”
The highlights of Gibson’s career aren’t the plaques and certificates in her office, but rather the students themselves.
“I love being with the kids,” she said. “One of my fifth-grade girls came in and said to me recently, ‘Ms. Gibson, what’s going to happen to this school when you and I leave?’ That’s such a great thing for a student to feel that much ownership in the school. It’s those little things that I consider my highlights.
“What’s also rewarding is knowing that I’m retiring and there are two people in this building who I taught in fifth grade,” said Gibson. “If you go over to Presque Isle High School or Presque Isle Middle School, there are a couple people there that I taught, too. That kind of brings my teaching career full circle.”
In addition to spending more time with her grandchildren, Gibson plans to “dig in my garden and read lots of books.”
“I think I’m going to really enjoy those days when you get up in the morning and it’s snowing and I won’t have to drive on those roads,” she said. “I won’t miss driving on snowy days.”
In describing her career at Mapleton Elementary School, Gibson uses words such as “challenging,” “rewarding” and “exciting.”
“It’s been perfect,” she said. “I wouldn’t change anything. It has been an honor to work in SAD 1. I’m really appreciative of the people that I’ve worked with. This is a great place to work, and I’m going to miss everyone. I will come back and see the kids … I won’t be a stranger.”
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Buzza
COLLEAGUES, students, relatives and friends honored Mapleton Elementary School Principal Gail Gibson May 15 at a retirement party. Celebrating with Gibson are, front row, from left: Matt Libby, stepbrother holding Kayla Libby, Gibson’s stepniece; Gibson, and Elsie Gibson, stepmother. Back row: friend Nancy Ash, Ellen Libby, stepsister-in-law; Mary Caron, sister; and colleague Carole Soucy.
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Buzza
DURING A RECENT RETIREMENT PARTY for Mapleton Elementary School Principal Gail Gibson, students honored her with the song, “I’ve Got a Friend Like You,” accompanied by Sherry Calhoun, music teacher, on the keyboard.
