HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia native is returning home to become the next Superintendent of Cabell County Schools.
Ryan Saxe, 35, currently serves as the executive director of curriculum and professional learning at Manatee County Schools in Bradenton, Florida. He begins the job in Cabell County on July 1st.
Saxe is a 2000 graduate of Cabell Midland High School. He previously worked as an administrator with the West Virginia Department of Education from 2012-2014.
“When I left West Virginia, I left with the intention that one day I would return having a different set of experiences that I could bring back to the state and help contribute to promoting high quality education,” he said
His current school district in Florida has approximately 50,000 students, which is a lot more than Cabell County’s student body.
“Being able to apply, on a different level obviously, that to a school district in West Virginia I think is going to serve very, very well,” he said. “I think that being able to come back to West Virginia and provide a fresh perspective and a fresh set of ideas is something that I look forward to doing.”
Saxe will be coming back to an area that is working to combat a drug crisis. He said he believes in working hand-in-hand with the county to address the issue.
“That can be through programming that we systematically put into our schools, provided by some of these community partners to address and to tack some of these issues so our children and our students, as they grow up and start their role as citizens, that they can make positive, healthy living choices,” he said.
The new superintendent said he’s committed to giving students the best possible education.
“We will be relentlessly in pursuit of high quality instruction every single day because the students and the community of Cabell County deserve that,” Saxe said.
Saxe takes the place of current Cabell County School Superintendent Bill Smith who is retiring in July. Smith has had the job since 2005.