Maruta Gardner
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Maruta Rubens Gardner (February 20, 1947 – February 13, 2016) was an American community activist and public school administrator serving in the roles of teacher, vice principal, principal, and assistant superintendent of schools in
San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...
who has a City of San Diego half-acre park and playground named after her.


Education and early life

Gardner graduated in 1965 from Irvington High School in Irvington, New Jersey. She then earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in education in 1969 from Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa, where she served as president of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. Maruta received a Master of Arts in administration and supervision in 1976 from San Diego State University, and a doctorate in administration in 1988 from the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
.


Career

Gardner worked for 38 years in public education, teaching school before becoming an administrator, vice principal, a principal at Mission Bay High School, assistant superintendent of the
Poway Unified School District Poway Unified School District is a school district located in Poway, California. The district operates 26 elementary schools (grades Preschool–5), seven middle schools (6–8); five comprehensive high schools (9–12); and one continuation hi ...
, and an instructional leader at the Institute for Learning at San Diego Unified School District. When Gardner retired in 2008, she was the executive director of the San Diego County Office of Education, Juvenile Court and Community Schools.


Community work

Gardner, beginning in 1990, chaired the Mission Beach Town Council's Graffiti Patrol. Before painting over graffiti in the beach area, Gardner would take photos and then send them to the San Diego Police Department's gang unit so officers could identify the gangs to which the graffiti was tied. The police department deputized her and gave her an honorary badge, making her graffiti-abatement role official. For more than 20 years, Gardner, riding a three-wheeled bicycle, hauled supplies and paint as she pedaled to different spots in the beach area to paint over graffiti in an effort to improve the community. Gardner also was a former president of the Mission Beach Women's Club. At the time of her death, Gardner sat on the City of San Diego's Consolidated Plan Advisory Board.


Fatal crash

Gardner died from a severe head injury in February 2016 in what police called a road rage-fueled hit-and-run crash by a drunken driver as Gardner removed graffiti from a beach wall. The driver, Jonathan Domingo Garcia, 23, was charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and felony hit-and-run. He pleaded guilty in June to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and was sentenced in 2016 to 11 years in a
California State Prison The California State Prison System is a system of prisons, fire camps, contract beds, reentry programs, and other special programs administered by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Division of Adult Institutions ...
.


Recognition

Three months before Gardner's unexpected death, the
City of San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
in 2015 declared November 3 as Maruta Gardner Day in recognition of Gardner's years of service to the community through the Mission Beach Women's Club, for her graffiti eradication work in the Mission Beach and Pacific Beach communities, and for her efforts through the woman's club to upgrade a playground at Bonita Cove, Mission Beach, through the "Play by the Bay" fundraising effort. Every November 3 since Gardner's death, residents participate in a beach cleanup as a continuing memorial to her and to honor her dedication to community service. A large mural, painted on a Mission Bay High School wall by artist John Vallas, was unveiled in Gardner's memory in 2017. A year after Gardner's death, the City of San Diego began giving an annual Maruta Gardner Excellence in Volunteering Award, presented to a volunteer by a councilmember.


Maruta Gardner Playground

San Diego Mayor
Kevin Faulconer Kevin Lee Faulconer (born January 24, 1967) is an American politician who served as the 36th mayor of San Diego, California from 2014 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, Faulconer served as the member of the San Diego City Council for th ...
, at a November 2019 groundbreaking of a $3.4 million renovation of the playground at
Mission Bay Park Mission Bay is a human-made seawater, saltwater bay located south of the Pacific Beach, San Diego, Pacific Beach community of San Diego, California created from approximately of historical wetland, marsh, and saltwater bay habitat. The bay is pa ...
, officially renamed the Bonita Cove Playground after Gardner. The renovated half-acre Maruta Gardner Playground was dedicated by the City of San Diego on Nov. 20, 2020. A bronze plaque with Gardner's image was installed at the playground on January 10, 2024.


Scholarship

In 2017, Gardner's Irvington High School class of 1965 designated funds for a Maruta Rubens Gardner Scholarship, which was awarded in a ceremony to graduating senior Ashley Moreno.


Awards

* Outstanding Educator by the Association of California School Administrators 1988-1989 * Distinguished Leader by the San Diego Administrators Association 1989-1990 and 2005-2006 * Administrator of the Year in 1990 by the Council of Exceptional Children * Woman of Achievement in 2001 by the San Diego Council of Administrative Women in Education * Tribute to Women and Industry Honoree 2005 * Volunteer of the Year 2003 by the Mission Beach Town Council


Personal life

Gardner was married for 50 years to William Gardner, and the couple resided in Mission Beach.


References


External links


Maruta Rubens Gardner Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Maruta 1947 births 2016 deaths Educators from California 21st-century American educators University of Southern California alumni Parsons College alumni San Diego State University alumni American community activists Educators from New Jersey Irvington High School (New Jersey) alumni People from Irvington, New Jersey Activists from California Graffiti in the United States 21st-century American women educators Activists from New Jersey