Sarah Cauthen has a love for education and a strong presence in the Catholic church.
Cauthen will be bringing those two passions together as she was recently named the principal of St. Elizabeth Catholic School. She succeeds Sally Olivi, who retired from the position.
Cauthen, a Crossett, Ark., native , is a 2000 Crossett High School graduate and graduated from Millsaps College in Jackson in 2004 graduate with a degree in elementary education. She discovered the Mississippi Teacher Fellowship Program as she was graduating from college and earned her master’s degree from Delta State University. She completed the program in 2006 and was teaching in Clarksdale while taking classes at Delta State.
Cauthen met her husband, Taylor, a Clarksdale native, in 2006, while she was working for Myrtle Hall IV Elementary School. She worked for Myrtle Hall IV Elementary School from 2004 to 2008 where she taught kindergarten and third grade.
She also married Taylor in 2008, which was the same year she officially joined the Catholic church. That was the same year she began teaching special education at Sherard Elementary School and worked there from 2008 to 2016. She became the coordinator of faith formation at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in 2016 and remained in that position until she became principal.
“This has been my church for 11 years,” Cauthen said. “I joined the church in 2008 and I have grown to know this school, to love this school. My children go to school here. When Ms. Olivi let us know that she was retiring, I just immediately started praying and just wondered if this was where I needed to be, where God put me.”
Cauthen’s son, Brooks, 6, is going into first grade, and her daughter, Elizabeth Blaine, 3, is going into the Pre3 program.
Cauthen was raised as a Baptist, but discovered many of her friends in Clarksdale, including Taylor, were part of the Catholic church. That inspired her to start coming to the church and the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults classes to learn about it and grew to love the Catholic church.
“I had gotten out of teaching at public school three years ago and worked at the church the past three years,” she said. “I really just missed a school. I missed a school environment. I missed being with the kids. I missed being a part of their learning academically.
“I realized that I wanted to be making sure that St. Elizabeth continued to be the influence, the pillar that it is in this community, creating leaders, creating a future in Clarksdale. I wanted to make sure that we just continued to be an influence that we are in the community faith wise, athletic wise and service wise.”
Cauthen gained administrative skills as a case manager for the special education department during her final three years at Sherard Elementary School where she managed people and timelines and had a great deal of paperwork.
Cauthen’s vision for the school is straightforward.
“Let’s say there’s 100 reasons to leave Clarksdale, I’d like to see St. Elizabeth school be a reason that you stay in Clarksdale and continue your education here,” she said.
Cauthen said she was fortunate to be taking over an already well-run school with an experienced staff.
“My hope for St. Elizabeth is not only that we continue excelling and we continue creating strong leaders and strong students in Clarksdale, but now we expand and grow to become that school that keeps families in Clarksdale, that is option to even more families than we are now,” she said. “I hope we can expand who we are an option to and help be an educational option to keep people here in town.”
When Lee Academy’s elementary school closed in recent years, that forced other local private schools to step up and Cauthen understands the responsibility.
“Unfortunately, when Lee did close, we had to look at the families who were coming to us,” she said. “We had to reassess and adapt and do things to welcome those families and make sure we were meeting their needs as well.”
Cauthen said Catholic schools in the diocese are implementing the STREAM (Science Technology Religion Engineering Art Math). She noted she had to write about her philosophy of education to become principal and STREAM coincides with everything she said.
One activity coming up is the St. Elizabeth Parish fair in September, which is a fundraiser for the school and parish.
Cauthen said community service is a huge part of the school.
Students bring donations for organizations such as Coahoma County Diaper Bank, Care Station and CARES Animal Shelter. Each Friday, students pay $1 to wear jeans and that money is donated to a local organization, a family in need, or any particular need we identify in our community.
St. Elizabeth families and students are involved in organizing fundraisers and events for St. Jude and Griffin’s Run. The church has a food backpack program where it sends food home on Friday afternoons and over school holidays with a group of students at Booker T. Washington Elementary School. The school also had a big part in this backpack project not only by bringing food items for the backpacks, but St. Elizabeth students have been a part of packing the backpacks for the Booker T. Washington students.
“I am only skimming the surface in what I have mentioned as far as how deep our involvement is in helping make our community and the lives of our neighbors better,” Cauthen said. “We strive to help our families live like Jesus, love like Jesus and serve like Jesus.”
