Mardi Gibbons, retired innovative principal, reading specialist, and teaching consultant, has died at 82
Students loved that Mrs. Gibbons read poetry, sang songs, and danced at school assemblies. Colleagues admired her cascade of novel ideas, and parents appreciated her 24/7 approach to education. She became the third Black principal in Pennsauken when she assumed control at George B. Fine and C.A. Baldwin Elementary Schools in 1987, and she was principal later at Albert E. Burling, Theodore Roosevelt, and Benjamin Franklin Elementary Schools until her retirement in 2006.
“The kids are so excited about being in their school at night and waking up and brushing their teeth in the school bathroom the next morning. ... It creates an attachment for the school. It’s all part of building a community of learners that are excited about coming to school.”Mrs. Gibbons especially championed reading and organized annual Friday night sleepovers at school during which nearly 100 second through fifth graders read, sang, danced, and watched movies until lights out at midnight.
She met Leonard Gibbons through mutual friends, and they married in 1968, and had daughters Maya and Nikki. They moved to Maple Shade in 1972, Cherry Hill in 1976, and Delanco in 2006.Mrs. Gibbons was an avid golfer and helped establish a Black women’s league in South Jersey. She was an ardent walker and cyclist who raised funds for cancer research and other causes, and even traveled to Ireland in 1998 to walk in a marathon to benefit leukemia research.