GMS dean embraces role as team player, leader

By Mary Ann Price

The Canton Citizen is pleased to partner with the Canton Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee to present “Community in Unity,” a new regular series spotlighting Canton residents of diverse backgrounds. The series will run weekly throughout Black History Month and continue monthly for the remainder of 2021.

Karim Gibson, who is in his third year as dean of students at the Galvin Middle School, was a teenager when he knew he wanted to have a career working with children. As a student-athlete, he learned the importance of communication and working as part of a team — two attributes he brings to his work with adolescents.

Karim Gibson

Gibson’s parents are from Trinidad and Tobago, the island that is at the southernmost point of the Caribbean. They settled in Lynn when they moved to the United States and raised Gibson and his brother there. Gibson attended Lynn Classical High School, played wide receiver on his high school football team, played basketball, and was a track and field athlete. He went on to attend the University of Rhode Island on a football scholarship.

He spent the summer after graduating from Lynn Classical working at a summer camp in his hometown of Lynn. That experience, combined with the positive relationships he had had with his own teachers and coaches, propelled him toward the field of education.

But it was a conversation he had with one of the four most important women in his life that convinced him to become a teacher. That person was his mother. “My mother played an influential role,” Gibson said. “I remember talking with her deeply one day. She felt it would be a good opportunity for me. She was the guiding force.”

His work as a summer camp counselor with inner city youngsters was demanding, but by the end of the summer, he knew he would work with children. He didn’t really think it would be as a teacher. But, he said, “If you want to make a difference, teaching is the way to do it.”

At URI, Gibson majored in communications studies and minored in history and elementary education. He graduated and worked for Sears, State Street Corporation, and as a technician at Harvard Medical School while trying to figure out his future. At the age of 25, he was hired at Randolph Community Middle School to work in an alternative setting classroom with nine students who had severe behavior issues.

“That experience was difficult,” he said. “I made it through the year and said, ’Okay, you can do this.’” During that same year he was an assistant coach for the football team and coach of the freshmen boys basketball team. Since his first year as an educator, he has continued coaching and teaching young people. He spent five years as a special education teacher in the Boston Public Schools, two years at a charter school in Boston, and four years at the Community Charter School of Cambridge as the athletic director and a physical education teacher.

Gibson attended Cambridge College, earning a master’s degree in education and a certificate of advanced graduate studies (CAGS). “I was looking to grow,” he said. His goal was to become a school principal and ultimately open his own school, a dream he still carries with him. When the position of dean at the Galvin opened three years ago, another of the four important women in his life, his wife, pushed him to go after the opportunity.

The other two important women in his life are his grandmother and his daughter. “I’m blessed,” Gibson said. “They keep me on my toes.” Gibson and his wife also have a son.

In his role as dean, Gibson works closely with students in grades six and seven. He has an open-door policy for students, creating a safe space for them to check in with him when they need to, and keeping things confidential unless it affects someone’s safety. He works together with GMS Principal Sarah Shannon and Assistant Principal Jim Spillane. “It’s a great experience learning from [Shannon] and [Spillane],” he said.

At the start of a regular school year, the district faculty and staff have gathered together. Gibson said that at those meetings, he has seen few people of color. “A concern is that we lack diversity among teachers as far as the district goes; the percentage is pretty low,” he said. “I’ve been involved in discussions around diversity and inclusion quite a bit. Students of color are approaching me quite a bit. Students are actually yearning to get more people of color on staff, to be taught and raised by people who look like them. The students outnumber the members of the staff. How do we get to meet the needs of students culturally?”

Gibson looks at his background as an athlete to find an answer. “We have a long way to go,” he said. “Teamwork goes a long way. We all have to be as one. Communication is key. Communication and teamwork.”

Gibson said that he does not like excitement and remains calm in hectic situations. “I have a responsibility,” he said, “being a male, being a Black male, being a parent, being a co-worker: I have to lead by example. I am a team player, dedicated to working in the building and giving 100 percent. A sports background teaches you what it’s like to be a teammate. You don’t have to be an MVP, but you have to be there.”

Gibson is the recipient of the Unsung Hero Award at GMS, given to someone for showing grace under fire, showing respectfulness and responsiveness.

“I’m proud of my professional growth,” he said. “I’m proud to be working in a community where I’m considered a good team member. I’m someone people can count on. I’m pretty happy in my life right now. I’m not rich, but I feel like I have everything I could ask for at this moment in my life.”

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