On any given school day, you might find former Peterson Elementary School principal Penny Gibson at home, sipping iced tea, watching soap operas, or maybe just relaxing and enjoying time with her family.

She can now ‘officially’ relax because the word ‘retied’ has entered her vocabulary.

Mrs. Gibson, a Red Springs native, retired from the Public Schools of Robeson County on January 30, 2009, closing out a stories career in the field of education that began some 36 years ago in late 1973 in Hoke County as a music teacher at two different schools, South Hoke and Scurlock elementaries. For the last 11 years, Gibson has been principal of Peterson Elementary. She received her BS degree in Music Education from Pembroke State College in 1973.

“I consider myself blessed to have had the opportunity to work in my hometown and in a profession I truly enjoyed,” said Gibson. “The daily challengers were numerous, but the rewards – seeing children’s faces brighten when they learned something new and seeing the resulting pride in their teachers’ faces – validated the reason for my choosing education as a lifelong career.”

After spending one year at the two Hoke elementaries, she moved on to Pickens Jr. High for one year and then came to Peterson Elementary in 1975 where she divided her time between a music teacher at PES and a chorus teacher at Red Springs High School.

She was promoted to fulltime at PES until 1996 where she then entered the school administration field, serving as an assistant principal there. Two years later, she was promoted to principal in 1998 until her retirement in January.

“I cannot give enough credit to the dedicated staff members who work tirelessly to provide the very, very best learning experiences for our students to prepare them to be successful in the 21st century,” she said. “Peterson (Elementary) is fortunate to have similarly dedicated cafeteria workers, custodial workers, and bus drivers. Many well-trained retirees have returned to the school to serve as teachers, tutors and as substitute teachers. Peterson Elementary consists of a closely-knit educational family that gets its strength from the strong bond that exists among its students, staff, parents, and community. It has exceptional support from churches and businesses.”

In October 2006, Gibson was named the 2005-06 Wachovia Principal of the Year, representing the Public Schools of Robeson County. She received many accolades from her prestigious award, including a full, expenses-paid, educational trip to the country of China.

Staff says goodbye

Gibson leaves behind a staff of teachers, office personnel, cafeteria and custodial staff that thought much of her, during her time there.

“I hated to see her go,” said fourth grade teacher Lisa Schroeder. “She was a mentor to me. She was a teacher, a friend, she was like a mother to me and was always there for us. I will miss her kindness and leadership the most.”

Serving as interim principal is Bob Young.

Mr. Young served as an interim assistant principal at Peterson Elememtary for several months during the 2004-05 school year due to the death of the assistant there. He is no stranger to the teaching profession, having taught for 10 years; serving as a principal for 21 years in Wagram; was Headmaster at Avalon Academy; taught at Flora Macdonald Academy; and most recently, at Peterson Elementary.

“When the Robeson County Board of Education and Dr. Hunt called me, he knew that I knew a lot about Peterson Elememtary and he knew what a good job Mrs. Gibson had done,” said Mr. Young. “I knew how organized she was and how everything was set up. And so, after thinking about it, I thought I can make some contribution. I felt like it was a honor to fill in behind Mrs. Gibson. I’m having a good time and I feel we’re still making progress.

Young will serve as Peterson’s interim principal for five months.

“This is a great staff here,” added Young. “I don’t think people realize how many good teachers, good assistants, cafeteria and all that, work here. She (Gibson) has really assimilated a lot of really topnotch educators and that makes it a little easier.”

Family sacrifices

“Throughout this career, my family made many sacrifices to support me,” added Gibson, “and now I am looking forward to spending more time with them. “

She states she has not other plans except to take it easy.

Who would blame her?