Getting to know: Maricopa Elementary School’s principal

Even with 20 years of experience, Maricopa Elementary School Principal Bonnie Gibson says each day is a new and different experience.

Now in her second year as principal, Gibson said her favorite part of the position is working with students. Every week she eats lunch with a group of students and said she has a blast talking with all the different age groups and hearing about their likes and dislikes.

An Oak Lawn, Ill., native, Gibson has lived in Arizona since she was 14. She attended all three of Arizona’s major universities on the road to earning her teaching certificate and a master of educational leadership. Before becoming a member of Maricopa’s Unified School District, Gibson worked for 15 years as a teacher and administrator in the Kyrene School District.

Gibson and her family moved to Maricopa “before there was a grocery store,” one month after it was declared a city, and transferred her career here a year later. Gibson lives with her husband of almost 25 years, Keith Gibson, a social studies teacher at Maricopa Wells Middle School. Their son, Ken, is a student at Arizona State University where he studies theater production. In her spare time Gibson enjoys coaching or playing volleyball, watching movies and playing computer games.

During the school year Gibson said she hopes to continue and grow as an administrator to provide the best leadership for her students and staff.

A pet peeve of Gibson’s is people who do not express their feelings about issues because they fear it is different than others. And when asked how she would finish the sentence, “in a perfect world,” Gibson responded that “people would be understanding and respectful of each other.”

Photo by Katie Winkley