Cain's Corner

Parent Engagement vs. Parent Involvement Today on Facebook, Shawna Fritzler posted a question about Parent Engagement vs. Parent Involvement. Rather than respond via a lengthy Facebook reply, I decided to blog about it. Many school and district leaders are doing amazing things with both Engagement and Involvement. Others, struggle as they ultimately there is confusion as to what the difference is between engagement and involvement.  Simply, parent involvement is often more "doing to", whereas engagement is "doing with". With involvement, schools tend to lead with their mouth. This leads to communication but not true connection. Every school or district communicates, some better than others. Very few connect. Engagement, on the opposite side, has schools leading with their ears. These schools listen, learn, then lead together. Engagement focused schools and districts listen to parents and community members. A genuine partnership is formed when we elicit in...

My Birthday Reflection Today is my 39th Birthday. There are two great days in a person's life. The day they were born and the day they discovered why. Two plus years ago when I began my school leadership journey, I truly discovered my why.  Discovering why I was born changed my life. I want that for you, the reader. I want that for every person I am privileged to serve throughout my career in Education. Principal Kafele speaks of this as your leadership purpose. A person without a purpose is like a word without a definition - meaningless. Why do you get up in the morning and come to a school or district level position? What drives you to do the important work we do in our schools and districts each and every day?  Your purpose is who you are as the leader of a school, department, or school district. It is the very foundation of which your passion is built. Your passion to quote my friend Brad Jordan aka Scarface is Deeply Rooted within YOU. Discovering your purpos...

Turning Doubt It Results The first 9 years of my education career, I was a Physical Education teacher. Over those 9 years I had the opportunity to write curriculum for an entire district, to develop an innovative system working with the Center of Assessment to share high quality assessment to support Student Learning Objectives (SLO's), to serve on local and state committees to write policy to support physical activity and health in schools. All this work and my experiences as a Physical Education teacher prepared me for taking the next step in my career, becoming a school leader. I wanted to make a difference for more people, to add value to more lives. Going back to school to get my principal's license and Master's Degree in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies was the road to that dream. What I did not expect as I began on my new path was the stigma associated with being a Physical Education teacher.  As my Principal Internship ended in May of 2016 and I...