Principal Suzanne Savall retiring after devoting 38-year career to Otis Orchards Elementary

Otis Orchards Elementary School principal Suzanne Savall, like several local principals and teachers, will be retiring at the end of the school year. But what makes Savall unique is that she’s spent her entire 38-year career at the small elementary school in the East Valley School District.

Savall grew up in the West Valley School District and attended Spokane Community College with the goal of becoming a bank manager. But a decision to tag along when a friend went to visit an East Valley school changed her life. “I thought, oh my gosh, I need to be a teacher.”

She switched majors and attended Gonzaga University before graduating from Eastern Washington University with a degree in teaching. While she was still at EWU she applied to do her student teaching at Otis Orchards Elementary, where she taught a class while being mentored by an experienced teacher.

Savall remembers walking out of the school determined to work there.

“I just prayed that this would be the spot,” she said. “There was just something about that little farming community.”

She did her student teaching there, then was hired full time after she graduated. She taught second and third grades for a number of years, thinking of her co-workers as family.

“I just had my best friends to work with,” she said.

In 1987 she started taking on leadership roles with the teachers union. “That was the beginning of my draw toward leadership,” she said.

At first she didn’t consider being a principal. She believed it was too much work, and that principals weren’t able to have their own lives. Yet her friends and family encouraged her repeatedly to make the change, so she began taking classes toward a master’s degree in educational leadership at EWU.

Savall said she knew she would have to leave her cozy school once she became a principal, but she had resigned herself to that. Then some news arrived out of the blue.

“Just as I was graduating, the principal at Otis retired,” she said. She immediately applied for the job and got it.

“I was ecstatic,” she said.

Since then Savall has worked to hire teachers who are willing to put in extra effort and sends out weekly bulletins so everyone is on the same page.

About 13 years ago the school got a three-year grant from Washington State University to work with students dealing with trauma in their lives. Kids often go through a lot, whether it’s a parent in prison, a parent who has been deployed or even something like a beloved pet dying, Savall said.

“That was before anyone knew anything about it,” she said of childhood trauma.

The three years was filled with intensive professional development for all the teachers that encouraged them to look at kids through a trauma lens, Savall said. The things teachers learned have allowed them to help students who may have behavior issues in class.

“We have calm-down corners in every classroom and brain boxes with puzzles and hands-on things,” she said.

Those strategies, plus a leadership team responds to classrooms to help students regulate their behavior, allow students to stay in class rather than going to the office.

“They can stay in the classroom and listen to the teacher,” she said. “It’s all about supporting the kids, not disciplining them.”

Though the grant has long since ended, the practices continue. Every school day ends with relaxation exercises, and each student has a gratitude journal.

“All those things are good for all kids,” she said.

Teacher Karen Desimone lauded Savall in an email, where she said Savall has touched the hearts of many.

“Whether you are a student, a parent, a teacher or community member, once you have interacted with Ms. Savall, you leave feeling better and more able to take on the world,” she wrote. “This is done not by her words, but by her selfless giving and actions towards others. She leads by example, seeking out ways to build relationships and helping others to grow.”

Desimone also noted the work Savall has done to create an annual Otis Orchard parade, partner with community businesses, and make sure students have a Thanksgiving Day holiday feast.

“She is by far one of the most phenomenal principals,” she wrote. “She is dedicated to the students, families and members of the community beyond measure.”

Savall said she was right all those years ago: Principals aren’t able to have their own life. That is what led to her decision to retire.

“I work too much,” she said. “I don’t have a balance in my life. I was getting tired. I used to fly fish all the time. I used to go camping with my horses.”

She has also been caring for her mother, who has had several strokes, in the last three years. But even now, Savall isn’t calling it quits completely. She hopes to get a part-time job in education.

“I’m hoping I can still be around kids because they fill my cup,” she said.

But Savall has had some regrets since announcing her retirement.

“I wouldn’t have retired if I knew COVID was going to happen,” she said. “I’m disappointed I do not get to say goodbye to all my students and their families, both past and present, when this year ends.”

She said she hopes to have some sort of gathering in the fall, if possible, so she can say goodbye.

However, Savall said she has no regrets about becoming a principal and believes it allowed her to have a greater impact on students and their families.

“I’ve just been very, very blessed to work in East Valley,” she said. “It’s just been a great career. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”