Cain's Corner

The CULTURE Club This morning two leaders that have influenced and inspired me tremendously, Dr. Tony Sinanis and Joe Sanfelippo moderated a #HackingLeadership chat on Twitter focused on School Culture. I missed participating in the chat live, as I slept in getting some much needed rest after a busy week. Reading the great questions and responses, I tweeted out some thoughts and felt I should expand upon them on my blog. First, if you don't own Tony and Joe's "Hacking Leadership" book I highly recommend it. Both Tony and Joe are MUST follows on Twitter. Two amazing leaders and people. Second, I would go out and get both culture books that Todd Whitaker and Steve Gruenert have written. I am the type that likes books that have practical application ideas that I can utilize to support my school. Gruenert and Whitaker's School Culture Typography assessment from "School Culture Rewired" is something I recommend every school complete. You have to know...

Chances are you have no idea who the person in the picture above is. I didn't. My 12 and 9 year old are fully aware of who this person is and where they DISCOVERED him. Noelle and Carson taught me a very important lesson about DISCOVERY and how students today learn.  The picture is of Jake Paul. According to my 9-year old son he is a famous "youtuber" who makes music and prank videos. He apparently according to my son was also on a Disney Channel TV show. When I looked at his YouTube Channel I found that he had over 11 million subscribers. Instagram, nearly 10 million followers. Twitter, 2.4 million followers. As I began to DISCOVER Jake Paul on my own I learned that he became famous on the Vine App, with 5.3 million followers with over 2 billion plays on the App. This is someone with an enormous following that I had absolutely no idea about.  I had no clue who Jake Paul was. Carson just told me his motto is "it's everyday bro". When you think a...

I had the opportunity this past week to get a preview of the forthcoming release of the new vision for Jeffco Public Schools where my children attend school. New Superintendent Dr. Jason Glass shared a glimpse into the vision --- one that's transformational and innovative. His recent blog post was about the need to innovate at the Micro Level --- the classroom -- where individual students experience learning. https://advancejeffco.blog/2017/09/29/micro-innovation/ How do we create a culture of innovation within our schools sites to foster innovation at the classroom level? School leaders must establish an environment that values and rewards innovation. We must challenge the status quo, create a culture of creativity (for adult and student learners), and develop a workplace that's nimble and adaptable to change. How do get there? First, the school leader must model innovation. Steve Jobs once said "innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. Principals mus...