For more than 35 years, Carla Sarauw has dedicated herself to improving the lives of students, staff, and communities as an educational administrator in both public and private parochial school settings. She credits her parents, Ivan Buchanan and Beryl Buchanan-Hughes, with instilling in her the value of education at a young age, volunteering as a Catholic school teacher and working as a night school teacher for adult learners. After graduating from Convent High School, Ms. Sarauw continued her education at the University of the Virgin Islands, earning a Bachelor of Arts in biology in 1978. She continued her studies at the University of the Virgin Islands, beginning as a pre-med major, and eventually deciding to teach for a year, where she says she “found her niche.”
Ms. Sarauw returned to the University of the Virgin Islands in 1985 to study educational supervision and administration, completing her Master of Arts in 1989. She began her educational career in public schools, devoting 35 years to raising academic standards in the classroom and as an administrator. In recognition of her dedication, Ms. Sarauw was presented with an Outstanding Science Educator Award in 1990. She continued to teach for several years before transitioning to an administrative leadership role, spending 19 years as a school principal.
As a principal, Ms. Sarauw was instrumental in helping reform schools to meet national benchmarks in standardized testing. Under her guidance, struggling elementary schools were able to initiate a turnaround that ultimately resulted in meeting standards for adequate yearly progress in national test scores, an achievement she considers to be a career highlight. In addition to the gains made in test scores, Ms. Sarauw helped boost several schools on the verge of closing due to low performance and helped provide support and professional development resources to other teachers and staff.
Since 2013, Ms. Sarauw has been the principal at All Saints Cathedral School, formerly a low-performing Pre-K-12 school that has developed a reputation for outstanding test scores and producing a large number of National Merit Scholars under her leadership. Her comprehensive educational expertise extends to school administration at the elementary and secondary levels, teaching, instructional technology and curriculum design, staff development, coaching and training, and fundraising and policy work. As the school principal, she is responsible for supervising and facilitating everything from accreditation to classroom management, making her wealth of experience an invaluable asset.
Ms. Sarauw is a member of the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. She is the past president of the Interscholastic Athletic Association and current secretary of the Virgin Islands University Sports Federation, a position she has held for more than a decade. She attributes her success to her love for her work and her ability to encourage each child’s success as though they were her own. While she remains enthusiastic about her career, she hopes to retire within five years to focus on her hobbies and spend more time with family, including her adult children Levron Sarauw Jr. and Senator Janelle Sarauw. Ms. Sarauw has traveled extensively, with a passport including trips to Turkey, Russia, China, and Korea, and has enjoyed more than 40 years as supervisor for her church choir.