Mary Gaston

Mary has been an equity-focused ECE/elementary educator in the Bay Area for over 25 years. Her commitment to educational equity began with a tutoring stint in East Palo Alto while reading Paolo Freire’s work in an undergraduate class at Stanford University where she got her B.A. in English Literature. She began her teaching career in EPA’s Ravenswood City School District but eventually found her way via México to East San José where she helped create and lead a two-way Spanish immersion program while earning her M.A. in Educational Leadership and her administrative services credential at San José State University.

As a Spanish teacher at Lighthouse Community Charter School in Oakland, Mary was introduced to school-based makerspaces and maker-centered learning. Being a maker herself, she became fascinated with students’ experiences in making and how they relate to their becoming lifelong changemakers. In 2020, she completed her Doctorate in Educational Leadership at Mills College, focusing her research on identity development and transformational resistance in a school-based makerspace.

Five core values - love, community, agency, social justice, and integrity - guide Mary’s work as an educator. She believes deeply that all students (young and old) deserve the opportunity to take agency over their lives and craft their own unique paths, rooted in their identity, skills, and knowledge. 

Mary is excited to use her experience and skills to further The Primary School’s mission of all children having the opportunity to lead happy, healthy, and productive lives!