Katie Gibbons

Katie Gibbons joins Black Pine Circle School as head of lower school with nearly two decades of experience serving Bay Area independent school communities as a teacher and school leader. Most recently, she served as head of lower school at Alta Vista School in San Francisco. Previously, Katie helped launch one of AltSchool’s TK–8 micro-school campuses in San Francisco, which focused on personalized learning. She was also part of the founding team at Synapse School, a K–8 independent school in Silicon Valley, where she served as the school’s first classroom teacher and later as associate head of school. Katie received her B.S. in elementary education from Elizabethtown College and her M.A. in educational leadership from Mills College. She is passionate about creating joyful, safe, and innovative learning environments where children feel known, challenged, and supported. She is also the co-author of TRUST or DOUBT: Essential Strategies to Co-Create Thriving Teaching Teams. Outside of school, Katie finds joy in adventure, nature, music, storytelling, pickleball, and weekly watercoloring sessions with her mom. Katie is excited to join the BPC community, learn everyone’s name, and lead with heart, humor, and humility.