Caryn Gibson, Montrose County native and 1982 graduate from Olathe High School, is retiring from Delta County School District after 36 years. Gibson served in numerous roles in the district over 36 years including the District’s Superintendent for the past 15 years. For KVNF, Lisa Young spoke with Gibson about her upbringing on a small dairy farm, her 40 year career in education and what’s next.
LISA YOUNG: Caryn Gibson, Superintendent with Delta County School District. You're getting ready for the big R. You're going to retire. Tell me about that.
CARYN GIBSON: That is right. I am getting ready to retire. I've been blessed to be part of Delta County School District and believe it or not, this is my 40th year in education.
I started in 1986 at Fruita Monument High School, spent my first four years in Mesa County School District before my parents who live outside of Olathe on Webb Dairy had the conversation with me and my husband to come back into the family farm. So knowing that, we did make that choice and then I needed to have a job. So I started at Delta High School as the business teacher.
And from there, I had opportunities to be a teacher in the district. I earned my leadership license. So then I became assistant principal, at the technical college as the financial aid director, technical college director and then came back in as the human resource director. That was one of my favorite jobs, hiring the people in the future for this great district and then superintendent and have been in this seat for the last 15 years.
So it's been a great honor. I am a 1982 graduate of Olathe High School, 1986 graduate of Western State, and then the fall, that's when I started at Fruita Monument. So it's been a wonderful career and I would do it all over again. Education and teaching is one of the best careers out there. I need to go to work for one of those companies and promote education and teaching.
YOUNG: It truly is wonderful. Caryn, I'd like to talk about your growing up in Olathe and specifically on Webb Dairy. What was that like for you and what were some of the lifelong lessons that you learned there on the dairy?
GIBSON: You know, I'm a fifth generation person from the Olathe, Pea Green area.
My dad grew up in Montrose and ended up going to Olathe High School. So my parents met at Olathe High School and got married right out of high school. And my grandparents had a chicken farm and a dairy farm, multiple acres in Pea Green. My dad and mom took the dairy cows two miles west of Olathe and started Webb Dairy from the ground up there. They had three children. I'm the middle deprived one.
Growing up on the farm was wonderful. We learned quality work ethics. You know, if you open a gate, you shut a gate. You complete your projects. Hard work. My sister and I milked cows every summer when we were in middle school and that also prompted us to want to play every sport in high school so we could do school activities rather than milking.
But that instilled in me that I want to be part of the dairy as I grew older. But being part of that agriculture community, just the quality of life, I wanted to be able to raise my family in that way as well. So it's again been a blessed life that I've been able to be part of education and part of that ag world. And that's part of my next journey as well.
YOUNG: Yeah, we'll be talking about that. So after graduating from Olathe, you didn't go too far away to get your bachelor's. Talk to me a little bit about college days and what that was like in Gunnison.
GIBSON: You bet. So at Olathe High School, you know, your senior year, you're trying to think what you want to do. And I made that decision my senior year when I was in an accounting class with Mrs. Fields. And at that point, you know, I like business. I want to do something in business.
So I went to Western State as a business major. And also, I love education. I used to play when I was very young with my dolls. I would line them all up. At that time, you had a blackboard. I had a little blackboard and I was teaching my dolls what they needed to know. I took lunch count. I did everything we did in school. And it was just a passion of mine to go into education.
So I combined business and education together and became a business teacher. So at Western, I got my business administration degree, emphasis in education. And then I went to Colorado State University, got a master's in vocational education.
Business falls under that vocational education. I also led Future Business Leaders of America with the high school kiddos, had multiple state national placers there. And then I wanted to affect more people and help more people.
So I wanted to go into administration, earn my leadership license to be a principal, and then earn my admin. So someday I could be an administrator at a higher level, superintendent. And I also earned my career in tech admin license.
So I could be the director of the Delta-Montrose Technical College at that time, which I was a main focus in changing the name of the Delta Montrose Technical College to Technical College of the Rockies. So I advocated for that name change along with our lobbyists and changed that name. So I think I've had a positive influence on Delta County School District and Technical College of the Rockies, ultimately all to help students be successful.
YOUNG: I'd like to talk about some of what you consider to be your major accomplishments in the role as superintendent here in the district.
GIBSON: Yeah, you know, something I'm proud of is how we treat people, building those positive relationships. I brought in a program called Capturing Kids' Hearts, and I always tell people education is our business, but how we do that makes a difference.
That every student counts, every student belongs, together we can is our theme this year. And it's about being collaborative and working together to try to help our kiddos and our staff members to be successful. So I think I'm most proud of the relationships and how the staff takes care of our kids.
Along with that, when you're taking care of kids and meeting them where they're at and growing them, they succeed. For the last three years, every school in Delta County School District, 100% of our schools have been a performance school, which is the highest rating from the Colorado Department of Education. Pretty sure we're the only school district with 14 schools that have an all-performance.
So I'm proud of the relationships, I'm proud of the academics. Also, we've been able to maintain and improve facilities. We passed a bond and updated our high schools.
And along this summer, we'll be updating Paonia K-8. So really taking care of the academics, taking care of the people in those relationships, and taking care of everything that it takes to run a successful school district. And we're very successful.
We've been very fiscally responsible. We have a quality fund balance. This school district is in a sound position to move forward. And as I hand off the baton to the new person, they're in a very good place. And I'm just proud of all of that. Absolutely.
YOUNG: A lot to be proud of. It's like being the CEO of a company, really, what you're dealing with. Along with those accomplishments, it hasn't all been roses. There have been some thorns. There have been challenges. And talk to me a little bit about over your tenure here as the superintendent, what were some of those challenges or maybe one of the biggest challenges that you faced within the district and how you were able to handle that? Yeah.
GIBSON: You know, there's been a few challenges over the years. I think when I first started, we were a school district of many schools. So trying to bring those together, get all of our arrows going in the right direction, and pull us together as a school district.
We also, staffing was different at every school. So how can we add some equity and some fairness? And so we implemented class size guidelines. So for however many students, that's how many staff you had.
That was a big one. And that continues to be a challenge, especially with declining enrollment. The mines closed. Other things happened. So declining enrollment and funding has been a challenge. But we've done a job.
We've been fiscally responsible. I've had people say, wow, look at all you've done with the amount of funding that Delta County School District gets. So the funding continues.
But something that's near and dear to my heart that's been, that took many years, it took a lot of listening and working with people. And so Delta County School District had four traditional high schools, and we have an alternative school. But with the declining enrollment, the declining funding, we had to say, hey, how can we sustain great options for kids? And so one of those big challenges is taking what, at that time, Hotchkiss High School, the Bulldogs, and Paonia ,the Eagles, and combining those to the North Fork Miners.
That was probably the hardest thing I've ever done, because I care about our kids. I care about our communities and all of that. But we were able to give our kids 28 additional class offerings.
So it was about success for kids, where they had more options in music. They had, all kids had access to an FFA, Future Farmers of America program, where we didn't have that for the Paonia kids. We were able to offer and continue AP classes, advanced placement classes, concurrent enrollment.
They can get college credit while they're in high school. And their athletic teams are very strong right now. They were, but with that declining enrollment, it was all changing.
And there's a saying out there, change before you must. And we were just trying to be proactive and do what's best for kids. And it helped financially as well, to sustain some things.
That was probably a huge, huge thing that'll always be in my heart. I am very proud of those North Fork Miners. And you know, the staff was huge in that, parents, community members.
And I know still today, it runs deep and it's hard, but at the end of the day, what's best for kids. And I really believe we've set the kids up for success and kudos to the staff. They make it work up there.
YOUNG: Caryn, as you're winding things down, and as you said, passing the baton on to the next superintendent, have you had time to think about your legacy, what you want people to say about you, what you hope they say about you, that legacy, or at least the legacy that you carry in your own heart?
GIBSON: Great question.
You know, I hope they remember me as a superintendent that cared for everyone, not just certain kids or certain schools, but caring about all schools that I listened and I wanted best for all kids and staff. I was fiscally responsible being that business major. That was something I took very serious.
Leaving this district in a quality place so whoever comes in, they're set up for success. But I truly want to be that person that people can come and talk to no matter where I am or what I want people to come up to me, and they do. And I think that's what it's all about, the relationships, taking care of the business.
And I say the school district is a business. When it all comes down, you have to take care of the finance. You have to make sure kids are getting educated in quality facilities. But just that I was the type of person that people could come share their concerns and celebrations with me.
YOUNG: As this door is beginning to close, I was thinking, well, Caryn's going to get on her horse and ride off into the sunset and just, you know, enjoy that retirement. But no sooner has this door even closed, then you're opening a brand new door. Let's talk about what's next for Caryn.
GIBSON: Well, thank you, Lisa. I love that you know that I love to ride horses.
Yes, I ride horses. And eventually, I'll be riding in the sunset. But right now, I'm just still riding and competing those horses. But my next step is I have put my name in for Montrose County Commissioner District 2. And your question of you thought I might just ride into the sunset, I'm not quite ready to ride into the sunset. I have a lot of energy left in me. And, you know, we talked about Olathe and Olathe is in Montrose County.
I'm a fifth generation there. And I care deeply about Montrose County. I want my kids and grandkids to be able to continue to live there. And I want to be part of the process of making decisions to keep our heritage and our traditions and all of that going in well in Montrose County. And with my background, my knowledge, I believe I can be a positive asset to Montrose County.
YOUNG: So as you retire and step out, you'll be stepping into some campaigning, looking forward to that opportunity. It just sounds like everything has worked out really great for you here in your career. You know, I'm me knowing you growing up the years that we played softball and volleyball and basketball together and another ag related events. It's just so exciting to see you at this point in your life and the fact that you're not quite ready to ride off into the sunset, but you've got another big adventure ahead of you.
And I just wish you the very best of luck.
GIBSON: Lisa, thank you.
