Principal lauded, announces plans to retire

In her last year as principal of Mark Twain Elementary School, Mary Garey was named Administrator of the Year by the state's classified employee association.

"I was shocked and quite honored," Garey said. "It was lovely."

The award came just after she announced to her staff last week that she will return to her hometown of Omaha, Neb., at the end of this year to help care for her ailing parents.

"It was a tough decision for me to make," she said. "My parents are aging and I think it's important that we're with the family at this time."

Garey served as dean of Carson Middle School for four years before becoming principal of Mark Twain in 1999.

After struggling through school at the University of Nebraska as a single mom, Garey began her teaching career in the Omaha Public School District, where she taught sixth grade for seven years.

She remarried and moved to Carson City with her husband, Philip Garey, in 1995. Between them, the two have eight children. Andy Garey, 15, a sophomore at Carson High School, is the only one left at home.

Garey was nominated for the award by the classified employees at her school and was selected for the honor among all other state administrators.

"Every administrator works very, very hard," she said. "To be selected by the employees was an honor."

A written commendation of Garey's achievements was handed out at Saturday's award luncheon.

It read: "Mrs. Garey is very visible around the school campus. You could easily find her wiping tables, helping students with their identification numbers, monitoring lines and chatting with students as they wait their turn for lunch -- all within the same lunch period.

"Her energy is amazing."

During her tenure at Mark Twain, Garey has helped the students double their math scores and implemented a prekindergarten program.

"I try to put as much as I can into everything I do," she said. "It will be very difficult to say good-bye."

Although the school fell into the "needs improvement" category under federal "No Child Left Behind" guidelines, she remains optimistic.

"I am confident that Mark Twain will be out of school improvement this year," she said.

Of everything she's leaving behind, Garey said she will miss her students the most.

"Mark Twain has been like a second family to me."