Huntsman Awards 2009: Trudy Savage

Literary specialist

Enoch Elementary School

Iron County School District

Making sure that the educational needs of every child are met at the level of their individual readiness is a daily concern for reading specialist Trudy Savage. For the past five years, she's been helping the more than 500 students at Enoch Elementary School to better understand reading and math.

Savage has been the lead Title I teacher at Enoch for more than 11 years and has taught in the area for 34 years, touching the lives of nearly every resident of Iron County.

The neatly catalogued shelves of books and lesson materials that line her office represent the versatile and adventurous teaching techniques she uses in her interaction with students, as well as the respect she has for learning. With the motto "No one at Enoch Elementary is allowed to fall through the cracks," Savage assumes responsibility for each child and has designed personalized academic plans for every one, to ensure success at every level.

From shopping for Christmas gifts for a needy child to helping others overcome anxiety, Savage remembers something unique about every student she meets, enlightening them with an energetic spirit.

How can you best prepare students to succeed in this challenging economy? "By teaching them to understand what money is and what things cost, as well as teaching them reality. If they can learn conservation skills, they will better be prepared to succeed when things go on around them."