I wanted to thank Penny Gibson for what a difference she has made in the lives of the children of Red Springs. She took her job so seriously because Red Springs is her hometown and she found a special way to give back to her community.

I have always admired the strong character she consistently displayed in her work with the students, staff and community. All levels of stakeholders were highly satisfied with her strong leadership. She was the epitome of values such as: fairness, honesty, integrity, concern for others and self discipline. She taught her staff to take pride in my work, to promote professionalism and integrity. Penny Gibson was a master at finding beauty in others. That’s why I want to take a moment to share with you some of the beautiful things she contributed to Peterson Elementary School over her 32 years of service to our campus.

Actually, Penny Gibson retired after 36 years of service. She worked 11 years as principal and 21 years as music teacher at Peterson Elementary School. She served two years as Assistant Principal of Pembroke Elementary School and worked her first two years outside of Robeson County.

Under her kind leadership, she made many contributions to Peterson Elementary School such as: recruiting her own teachers. Our staff is 100 percent highly qualified and fully licensed. Over 50% have advanced degrees, 8 are National Board Certified and over 72% have taught longer than 10 years, all of which is higher than the state and district averages.

Students were awarded high growth, exemplary and school of distinction for their academic achievements over her tenure. They received awards for attendance as well.

She was an advocate for appreciating diversity, technology, and improving the overall quality of education at Peterson. These efforts led her to being named in 2005, Robeson County Principal of the Year. She studied abroad in China and shared her experiences with her community, staff and students.

Penny Gibson always looked for ways to improve our campus and to be a positive role model. Over the last eleven years, our school was transformed through many beautification projects, landscaped gardens and beds, the first ever school marquee sign was installed and is used to announce events and dates, a new metal roof was added along with an additional parking lot, the cafeteria was enclosed and a music room was added.

Most importantly she lobbied for funding to re-build the school gymnasium. The previous gym was destroyed in the tornado of 1984 and not rebuilt. It is now the center of physical education. It is complete with a stage for assemblies and has an annexed part for art education that even has its own kiln. Her love for our school increased school pride. Her enthusiasm was contagious. She incorporated spirit days, school mascot themed rugs, the halls were trimmed in the school colors, and child-centered murals were painted.

There are so many examples of her commitment to excellence. Her dedication to the school was always number one. She was well known for working long hours and on the weekends to make sure the job was always well done. She wanted to make sure that our students were prepared for the 21st century. She focused on school wide technology improvements. All of our classrooms are 100% connected to the Internet and have three or more computers. The school received an award by Pearson Learning for their work with the on-line Waterford Learning program.



She respected and instilled the love for diversity in our students. She partnered with the Red Springs Arts Council to have a visiting artist come in and assist the fourth graders in creating an 11-foot diversity mural that is displayed in the cafeteria. She was successful and tapped into volunteerism and inspired excellence in others. Ed Tyndall has helped with many beautification projects as well as the local garden club over the years, Civic clubs provided dictionaries and books to students. Volunteers help tutor students. Murray McKeithan volunteers each day assisting with the arrival and dismissal of car and bus students. She has involved the entire community in making our school successful.

Her generosity and kindness are unexplainable. Thank you Penny Gibson for all you have done. As you enjoy your retirement, look back upon your career and know your work is a testimony. Your tireless and unselfish efforts on behalf of the boys and girls of Red Springs are appreciated and value.



Brian Freeman

Colleague and Friend