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Former MCESC instructional consultant helps to lead Lowellville schools
By EMMALEE C. TORISK
LOWELLVILLE
Christine Sawicki didn’t necessarily think that being a principal, and one for more than 600 students from kindergarten to 12th grade at that, would be easy.
But not long into the 2014-15 school year, her first as assistant principal of the Lowellville K-12 School, Sawicki realized that the job of managing all of those students in all of those grade levels was definitely better suited to two people, instead of just one.
“For one person to do that ... I can’t imagine,” Sawicki said.
Luckily, the school board recognized that fact as well. This year is the first for the position of assistant principal, and Sawicki is working closely with Jared Van Kirk, K-12 principal since the 2012-13 school year, in that role.
“To do it effectively, you need more than one person,” Van Kirk explained. “Any management position is challenging, ... and [Sawicki’s being there] has made it easier.”
Van Kirk said that while he handles more of the day-to-day operations of the school, Sawicki focuses on curriculum — and especially on helping the district’s teachers align their curriculums with new educational initiatives from the state.
Those mandates are one of the primary reasons that the school board voted to add the position, said Joe Ballone, a board member. He added that “so much more is required now educationally,” and that one person’s dealing with the changes was both “pressing and taxing.”
“[The school board] thought, ‘We can get a lot more done if we bring a second principal on,’” Ballone said.
Plus, Ballone noted, Sawicki already had “some familiarity” with Lowellville schools.
For the past eight years, Sawicki worked as an educational consultant for the Mahoning County Educational Service Center, and was assigned to the Lowellville School District. She loved being in Lowellville and appreciated the small community’s tradition of excellence.
So, her move to assistant principal was a natural one, she said. The fit so far is good.
“I’m most surprised at how supportive everybody’s been, and how open and welcoming they’ve been,” Sawicki said.
After graduating from Boardman High School in 1998, Sawicki went on to attend Youngstown State University, where she earned both a bachelor’s degree in middle-childhood education and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, and Westminster College, where she earned her principal’s license.
Earlier in her career, she also taught math to students in grades four through eight in the Southeast Local School District in Portage County.
Sawicki added that she’s most excited about being back in a school on an everyday basis, and said she can’t remember a time when she didn’t love school.
“It came easy to me, and I liked being able to help others,” she said. “[I enjoy] seeing how I have a direct impact on students’ learning and on teachers’ learning.”
Superintendent Eugene “Geno” M. Thomas, who also is new to the district, called Sawicki “very, very adept.”
“We’re very fortunate to have her here,” Thomas said.