Principal: Everyone has 'a genius’

Gabriel Savage holds that everyone has genius and that it’s his job to help students find and develop the genius within. Savage is the new principal at Pocopson Elementary School.

Savage, 42, is married and has three children, ages 14, 10, and 9. He began teaching in 2005 and comes to Pocopson after six years as principal at Wallingford Elementary School.

Savage said he got into education because of his parents who stressed the idea of being of service to others. Both parents were ministers but his mother was also a nurse who, after raising her kids, became a personal care assistant in schools.

“There was a student in a wheelchair who had medical concerns. She followed that student from middle school, all the way through high school, pushed her out for graduation, then she retired. So, my parents have always been about service. Our family has been about service, and valuing people. I think education, for me, was the way I could really serve people,” he said.

Savage went on to say he believes that “Each person is intrinsically valuable. Each life matters and, on top of that, each person has a genius. There’s something inside every person that is uniquely them, that they have to offer the world.”

In the K through 12 experiences kids get basic knowledge and understanding but, what really is going on is that they find out how they learn best, he explained.

“You find out how to take what you learn to do what you’re passionate about, about what you are wired to do. It’s a time of discovery. We’re helping to give you the basics so you can discover your genius, what you’re great at,” Savage explained.

And that, he believes, starts at the elementary school level. That’s where the kids start asking themselves who they are, and who they are as students, who are their friends, and how they fit in, he said.

When students get the confidence that they know how to learn, that they might learn differently than others, “I think that’s huge,” Savage said.

When asked about his proudest professional moment, Savage paused and said he hopes his proudest moment is still ahead of him. But he is pleased with what he saw happening at Wallingford Elementary while he was principal there.

But, so far, he said, he was moved during the end-of-year assembly during his final weeks at Wallingford Elementary.

“The kids were singing the school song, and they were talking about integrity, talking about that we’re a family school. They were talking about how we were not only encouraging each other to behave but also what we gave to the SPCA. This is how we serve others. And also knowing that the kids were thriving academically, seeing the whole community smiling, laughing, and singing, and knowing that they’re important and that helping other people is important. That gave me goosebumps,” Savage said.

He added that the moving up ceremony for the fifth-graders, where the students hugged their teachers and then their parents who were taking photos of the kids.

“To me, that’s what a community looks like.”

And it’s that sense of individuality with community that Savage wants to bring to Pocopson.

“Not only does every person have a genius but the culture has a genius. At my last place, they had a family atmosphere where they were able to connect with the community, they were able to connect with the students. I came in, I helped to identify that and then I helped grow it. And then I used that to help educate students. My goal here is to find what is the genius of the Pocopson Elementary community and staff; what are the gifts and talents and abilities that they have that we can grow,” he said.

There are still educational fundamentals that must be followed and adhered to, but Savage said he’s looking for what is unique about Pocopson.

“What’s the ‘it’? What’s the genius? What’s the thing that’s special about this place that’s different than anywhere else, and how can we grow that and leverage that and use it to help? That’s my goal. And ultimately, I want to see the success of every student. And that comes from the success of every teacher. I’m the teacher of the teachers. They’re my class. I want them to grow, develop, and be great. I want to help them find their genius so they can unleash it so they can do that for their students.”

Who is Gabriel Savage?

“I think Gabriel Savage is a man of faith,” he answered. “He’s a man of family, and he’s a father. I think that for many of us, our work is an extension of our identity, of who we are. And I think an extension of who I am as a father is that a father helps create identity. Fathers help to set parameters about how we operate within that identity. They help develop the character. And sometimes we have to be a disciplinarian. But at the very core of who I am, I’m just a dad who has a skill set and a genius in the area of culture, of people, of education, and seeing people learn.”

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.