
Phone: 478-751-6083 x1110
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Degrees and Certifications:
Dr. Cindy Gibson
Welcome to the Georgia Academy for the Blind. If you are looking for the hub of all things Blindness in Georgia, you have arrived!
I am Dr. Cindy Gibson, Superintendent. Let me begin by telling you that when I first stepped foot on the GAB campus spring of 2007, I was a recent retiree seeking a part-time teaching opportunity different from any other teaching in my past. I didn’t mean to fall in love; I didn’t plan to become the administrator. I thought I had experienced my “Personal Legend” calling as the principal of a non-traditional high school. As The Alchemist (Coelho) teaches, “To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only obligation.” For me, that destiny has always included serving children in Georgia Public Schools.
I began my post-secondary education at Tift College, a women’s college now merged with Mercer University. It is there that I learned to fight like a girl! Those skills that stand the test of time – knowledge, dedication, and resilience – similarly characterize the teaching and learning at GAB. I have subsequently completed degrees and post-secondary studies at Mercer University, Georgia State University, Nova Southeastern University, and Florida State University. In my 43 years of service I have been a teacher of choral music, high school English, Reading Specialist, special education, business education and Expanded Core Curriculum for students with visual impairment, and school administrator for twenty-eight of those years.
The staff at Georgia Academy for the Blind is comprised of a team of professionals providing instruction in multiple areas for total immersion. Wrap-around services for instructional support, fine arts, athletics, work-based learning, assistive technology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, orientation and mobility skills, and expanded core curriculum skills, all work together for the transition to college and career readiness and high school graduation. At the Georgia Academy for the Blind, we are ALL committed to providing instruction and independent living skills to establish each student’s highest level of independence.
Finally, it is said, if one really wants to understand how someone thinks, find out what he/she reads. I share my favorite selection, shared with me in high school Advanced Placement English: “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better; whether be a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Thank you for the opportunity to serve your children and families The GAB Way! I hope that when you experience GAB, you, too, will proclaim, “I didn’t mean to fall in love, but. . . .”