Ellen P. Gibson

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Ellen P. Gibson

Prior offices:

Newton Public Schools school board Ward 1

Years in office: 2014 - 2018

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Education

Bachelor's

Vassar College

Law

Boston University School of Law

Contact

Personal website

Ellen P. Gibson was the Ward 1 member of the Newton School Committee. She first won election to the seat on November 5, 2013, and she served until January 2018 as she did not file to run for another term in the general election on November 7, 2017.

Biography

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Gibson earned a B.A. degree in English from Vassar College and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law. During her career, she worked as an assistant editor with Little Brown in New York, as an attorney with Taylor, Anderson and Travers, and as the director of human resources at the Share Group. She left the Share Group and retired in order to spend more time with her family and to volunteer at her children's schools.

Elections

2015

See also: Newton Public Schools elections (2015)

The Newton School Committee consists of nine members, eight of whom are elected to two-year terms. The ninth member and chair of the board is the Mayor of Newton. The other eight members of the board are elected at large, although each member represents a different ward in the school district. The general election was held on November 3, 2015. All eight seats were on the ballot in 2015.

All incumbents sought re-election; only two saw challengers on the ballot. Ward 2 incumbent Margaret L. Albright defeated Cyrus Vaghar, while Ward 5 incumbent Steven Siegel won re-election against Susan Huffman.

The following incumbents won re-election unopposed: Ellen P. Gibson in Ward 1, Angela Pitter-Wright in Ward 3, Diana Fisher Gomberg in Ward 4, Ruth E. Goldman in Ward 6, Matt Hills in Ward 7, and Margie Ross Decter in Ward 8.

Results

Newton School Committee, Ward 1, General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ellen P. Gibson Incumbent	99.4%	4,583
Write-in votes	0.63%	29
Total Votes		4,612
Source: Newton Election Commission, "November 3, 2015 Official Results," accessed December 17, 2015

Funding

The Newton Election Commission does not publish and freely disclose school board candidate campaign finance reports. If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify any official endorsements for Gibson in the election.

2013

See also: Newton Public Schools elections (2013)

Gibson ran unopposed for the vacant Ward 1 seat in the general election on November 5, 2013.

Results

Newton Public Schools, Ward 1 General Election, 2-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Ellen P. Gibson	99%	5,705
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	1%	56
Total Votes				5,761
Source: Newton, Massachusetts, "Official Results - November 5, 2013," accessed December 18, 2013

Funding

Gibson reported $4,241.00 in contributions and $3,094.23 in expenditures to the Newton Election Commission, which left her campaign with $1,146.77 on hand in the election.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify any official endorsements for Gibson in the election.

Campaign themes

2015

Candidate website

Gibson's campaign website listed the following themes for 2015:

“	My top priorities when I first ran continue to be my priorities for the next two years: social and emotional learning and facilities. SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING Social and emotional learning is a priority because we live in a world where we need to be able to interact with one another, collaborate with one another, and get along with each other both personally and professionally. This year, Newton received a 5 year federal grant that allowed the district to hire a coordinator who is going to develop and coordinate the social and emotional learning curriculum for all Newton schools. I am also part of the High School Start Time Working Group that is exploring and researching potential roadmaps to adjusting the high school start time. Research shows that adolescents need more sleep and perform better if they start later in the morning. This working group is looking into the impact of delaying the start time at the high schools. FACILITIES Facilities continue to be a top priority. In addition to the 3 major elementary school building projects that are under way at Angier, Zervas and Cabot schools, the City has recently purchased the Aquinas property to address the overcrowding and poor building conditions at Newton’s pre-school, Lincoln Eliot and Horace Mann. As School Committee Liaison to the Newton Special Education Parent Advisory Council, I have worked to initiate a comprehensive review of facilities for secondary education special programs. We need to evaluate the facilities for our student service programs at the secondary level. Students attending these programs are among our most vulnerable and we need to ensure that they have a safe and appropriate learning environment. The Aquinas property will provide us with some options for these programs. As a member of the collective bargaining committee, I am proud to say that we recently reached an agreement with the teachers union that compensates our teachers fairly, respects the invaluable contribution they make to our school system and the lives of students, while at the same time is fiscally sustainable and allows us to continue to invest in the breadth of programming and professional development that makes our educational system excellent.	”
—Ellen Gibson (2015)

2013

Gibson's campaign website listed the following campaign themes for 2013:

Social and Emotional Learning – I will work to ensure that Newton educates the whole child. Social and emotional learning is an integral part of a 21st century education at all grade levels. When we teach students how to navigate the challenges of complex peer relationships, we are teaching them how to learn and work collaboratively; we are teaching them how to be responsible members of a community of learners. These critical social and collaborative skills enable all students to be successful and to access the rigorous academic curriculum that makes Newton one of the best school districts in the Commonwealth. Technology – All Newton schools need to be equipped with 21st century technology. How we fund our technology needs is an important piece of the conversation. Technology does not replace good teachers – it supplements them. I will work for increased and equitable funding for technology across the school system. Facilities – Recent passage of the overrides was a critical and necessary step toward improving our facilities. With plans in place for Angier, Cabot and Zervas, we can now turn our attention to schools like Lincoln-Eliot and others in dire need of improvements.

Note: The above quote is from the candidate's website, which may include some typographical or spelling errors.

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Ellen + Gibson + Newton + Public + School"

Ellen P. Gibson News Feed

See also

• Newton Public Schools, Massachusetts
• Newton Public Schools Elections (2013)
• Newton Public Schools elections (2015)
• Incumbency no guarantee of success in Nov. 3 school board elections (November 6, 2015)
• What happened in Nov.'s top board elections? (November 4, 2015)

External links

Suggest a link

• District page
• Campaign website
• Campaign Facebook page