Sawrey prepares students

HUNTINGTON -- Geraldine Sawrey has a passion to see children succeed.

That started in Cincinnati when she took over the first autism class in the state of Ohio at the Cincinnati Center for Development Disorders.

Today, she oversees the freshmen academy as assistant superintendent over school improvement for Cabell County Schools. Its goal, she said, is to lay a solid foundation in the high schools by giving freshmen the tools they need to succeed and graduate.

"We want to make sure they are actually taught how to be successful in high school," Sawrey said.

The academy is in its third year, and school officials believe it is making a difference in the lives of children. Sawrey added that the school district expects to see dropout rates decline, more students passing their classes and reaching higher levels of achievement.

The freshmen academy also serves as a safety net. Its recovery school allows students who are failing six weeks into the school year to make up the work after school to bring their grades up.

Sawrey's career has been helping children reach their potential, and this is just another step on her path. After her time in Cincinnati, she moved to Minneapolis, Minn., and taught an autism class that was part of a national research project. She then taught special education in Sydney, Ohio, and in Morgantown before moving to Huntington in 1980 to work with a class of autistic students.

In 1989, Sawrey became the special education supervisor for Cabell County Schools, and received a promotion to director of special education in 2000. Five years later, she was promoted to assistant superintendent by Superintendent William Smith.

Along with the freshmen academy, Sawrey helped with the retooling of middle schools and is behind Cabell Midland's transition of an honors course. The freshmen humanities course, now offered as an elective honors course, will be taken by all freshmen next year. Sawrey said the class was always meant to be taken by all ninth-graders.

"Humanities was never intended to be for honors," she said. "It was intended to be for everyone."

Making it available to all students, she said, goes along with the added rigor of 21st century learning.

She also is in the beginning stages of forming a high school restructuring team that will include community members, business leaders, teachers, students and administrators. She attended a national high school restructuring conference in San Diego in February, bringing back valuable information for Cabell County administrators to use.

"We want to make sure our high schools are preparing students for a 21st century work force and 21st century living," Sawrey said.