Armita G. B. Sims, dedicated teacher

SHARON A. Bembery says she can't go into a Wawa, a Borders or a craft show without somebody asking about Armita.

It hurts to be reminded of her long personal and professional association with Armita Gladys Blackwell Sims, who served the Philadelphia School District as teacher, principal, cluster leader and educational facilitator for 33 years.

She died of cancer Jan. 1. She was 61 and lived in Laverock, Montgomery County.

"Armita may be in a better place, but I am not," Sharon said.

"I will miss her every day for the rest of my life."

Sharon said she first met Armita when they were in the Urban Teacher Corps at Temple University in 1967.

"This program was designed to 'reach and teach' students in disadvantaged schools," she said.

"Armita never forgot that and always looked at the big picture.

That was the beginning of Armita's lifelong commitment to educating children who needed special treatment and care.

As leader of the Overbrook Cluster, she made a practice of giving her staff copies of "A Prayer of Responsibility for Children," a lengthy and moving poem by Ina J. Hughes, that expressed her feelings about her task in life:

. . . We pray for those

whose nightmares come in the daytime . . .

who go to bed hungry

and cry themselves to sleep . . .

She wanted her staff "to understand what the students were up against and to be more compassionate in helping them to learn and to succeed," Sharon said.

Even after she retired from the school district in 2003, she continued in education with the Platform Learning program, which provides services to public-school students who need special attention.

Armita was born in Philadelphia to John Calvin Blackwell and Gladys Taylor.

She graduated from Little Flower High School and received a bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry from Bennett College in Greensboro, N.C.

She later earned her master's in education from Temple and obtained her principal's certification and superintendent's letter of eligibility from Penn State and Beaver College.

She had completed the academic requirements for a doctorate of education from Drexel.

In 1969, she married Samuel Thomas Sims. He died in 1999.

After starting her teaching career with the Urban Teacher Corps, she taught science at the E. Washington Rhodes Middle School. She later taught sixth grade at the Edward T. Steel School.

She served as principal of Charles W. Henry Elementary School and Dimner Beeber Middle School.

At Beeber, she applied for and received a grant of $750,000 from RJR Nabisco Inc., family members said.

Armita helped coordinate the transition from the district's regional system to the cluster program, and took over the Overbrook Cluster.

In her spare time, she enjoyed all forms of crafts, including quilting, embroidery and needlepoint. She and her husband were avid collectors of African and African-American memorabilia.

She was a jazz aficionado and an enthusiastic gardener who could identify plants and flowers by their botanical names.

Armita was an active member of St. Raymond of Penafort Church, where she was a eucharistic minister and lector.

She was also a dedicated alumnus of Bennett College and lent her support to many of the school's activities. She sponsored students at St. Raymond's and Philadelphia Futures. She worked with the Rho Theta Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and volunteered with Workers in the Vineyard.

She is survived by her mother; a son, Gary Matthew; a daughter, Duane Michelle; a brother, John Blackwell; five sisters, Valerie Richardson, Jacqueline Taylor, Duane Johnson, Stephanie Warren and Frances Hawthorne, and two grandchildren.

Services: Were held Saturday. *