Mary C. Randall, retired teacher and principal, education innovator, and mentor, has died at 77
She championed Black culture and improved the School District of Philadelphia in many ways. “She came up with creative approaches to keep students engaged and moving forward,” her family said.
Mary C. Randall, 77, of Philadelphia, retired longtime teacher and principal for the School District of Philadelphia, education innovator, political campaign manager, and mentor, died Sunday, Feb. 18, of cancer at her home in Germantown.
Independent and ambitious as a youth in her Nicetown neighborhood, and successful and celebrated during her three decades as a teacher, principal, and cluster leader for schools across Philadelphia, Ms. Randall introduced Black studies into the district’s curriculum, improved academic performance wherever she went, and mentored countless other educational pioneers who followed her.
Beginning in 1968, she taught elementary school students at Robert Morris School in North Philadelphia, was a specialist in math and the gifted program at J. Hampton Moore Elementary School in Northeast Philadelphia, and served as principal at William S. Peirce Middle School in South Philadelphia, and William Levering Middle School in Roxborough.
She promoted Black culture and achievements as a teacher, and created fun-filled academic programs that included a memorable math project that featured live chickens in her classroom. Her motto, her family said, was: Successful people fail many times, but they never give up.
“She knew what was going on in the schools,” said her sister, Bernadette Tanksley. “When you worked with her, you didn’t play. She was committed to excellence.”
Ms. Randall became a principal in 1985 and oversaw Peirce’s transformation from an elementary into a middle school in 1988. She organized career days that highlighted dozens of professions, focused special attention on reading and writing skills, and was so revered by the end of her time at Peirce that they painted a lobby mural in her honor and named the auditorium after her.
She was featured in a 1993 article in The Inquirer about a violence prevention initiative at Peirce and said: “I think this program has potential if we get the justice system and the other institutions involved.”
Later, at Levering, Ms. Randall helped catapult its fifth-grade test scores into the district’s top five. “Sometimes when you can’t move a mountain, you take one stone at a time,” she told The Inquirer in 2002. “So the stone I chose was Levering School to do the best we could do.”
She became a district cluster leader in a 1998 realignment and oversaw seven elementary schools, two middle schools, an academy, and Audenried High School. She championed teamwork and collaboration, overcame funding uncertainties, and developed a notable service learning program in which middle school students were trained by health-care professionals to interact with elementary school special education students.
One of her students published a book for preschool children, and she earned the Rose Lindenbaum Award from the Philadelphia Public School Retired Employees Association for “supporting a safe and nurturing learning environment, meeting the needs of all students.” She was active with the Black Women’s Educational Alliance, sat on many councils and committees, and mentored other educators at conferences and seminars.
She was an expert in social studies and served as campaign manager for candidates in city and state elections. “Mary was articulate and on the right side of critical issues,” said longtime friend and colleague Jean Waites-Howard.
Mary Cecilia Randall was born Oct. 8, 1946, in Philadelphia. Nicknamed “Ran,” she played the trombone as a girl on Bouvier Street and was a top seller of candy for her elementary school and cookies for the Girl Scouts. “She was a lovable little kid,” her sister said.
She graduated with honors from Little Flower Catholic High School for Girls in 1964 and earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology on scholarship at Immaculata College, now Immaculata University, in 1968. She received a master’s degree in educational leadership from Pennsylvania State University and did everything but finish her dissertation in pursuit of a doctorate at Penn State.
Away from school, Ms. Randall enjoyed skiing and rafting, and introduced friends to her favorite roller coasters. She joined the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, cofounded the Birthday Girls club in 1968, and was a member of the Third World Women’s Literary Group for 50 years.
She was a fashionista and good at pinochle, bridge, Monopoly, and Scrabble. She traveled to Europe, China, Africa, Mexico, and the Caribbean, and made sure all the children she knew had presents at Christmas.
A longtime friend called her “loyal, funny, generous, and faithful.” Another friend said: “I’ll cherish every memory with a smile and great love.”
She had heart surgery five years ago. Her family said: “Mary has left an indelible mark on all who knew her and loved her.”
In addition to her sister, Ms. Randall is survived by another sister and other relatives. Three brothers died earlier.
Visitation with the family is to be from 8 to 10 a.m. Friday, March 1, at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, 230 W. Coulter St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19144. A service is to follow.
Donations in her name may be made to the United Negro College Fund, Attn: Denise Scott, Direct Response Programs, 1805 7th Street, NW Washington, DC 20001.