Her Story
About Caitlin
I've been in education for 14 years, starting in 2011. I began my career as a teacher for students with disabilities, working at both high school and elementary levels across two different districts. I taught students ranging from mild disabilities to pretty intensive disabilities throughout that time. I always knew I wanted to be in a leadership position, so when an opportunity came up, I took it. When I was hired in my current position, I was a special education supervisor and really just oversaw programming within our ESC. Now I am a district lead, doing some other projects within the community and still overseeing programs, but kind of taking it to another level. My main area of expertise is educating students in literacy, and most specifically, students with disabilities. Day-to-day, I do legal compliance pieces, making sure we're doing our part and withholding the standards set by our state and federal governments. But I would say day-to-day, I do a lot of talking to teachers and parents, making sure students are getting what they need in their education, but also looking at who they are as a person too. I spend a lot of time in the classrooms because I don't ever want to forget what their day-to-day is. We're talking about the kids and their future, not what's best for districts financially if it's not good for kids. I just graduated with my doctorate in education, with my focus on students with disabilities and literacy education. My hope is to continue that work in students graduating that are literate, getting jobs, and not needing so much support, because as we know, a lot of our supports are dwindling. I want to make it so they can be self-sufficient in jobs that can pay them a livable wage, and I believe literacy is the key to that.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Caitlin
01What do you attribute your success to?
I always say I'm always a yes person. When someone asks if I want to do something, I say yes and figure it out. I don't turn down opportunities, I think that's part of it. I also surround myself with people that maybe aren't going in the same direction, but are like-minded. They're hardworking and they want what's best for me. I kind of keep my circle kind of tight, but intentional.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
It was probably really early on, from a retired teacher I went to dinner with. She said, make sure you always have fun and don't let the paperwork bring you down, because it will and it can. I was like, not me, it'll be fine. Now I see it. I'm halfway to 30 years, and I've never forgotten it. So when it feels like that, that's when I put it down, I take a break, and I look for something that will bring me joy for the next 5 minutes before I go back and get it done.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell them to be intentional with their career moves. I've talked to a lot of people that have their bachelor's and they're looking for a master's, and I tell them, don't get a master's in something you can already do. Open doors for yourself and seek those opportunities. Let people know what you want, because when you do that, then they're like, oh, I remember Caitlin said she would be interested in this, so I should give her a call. People have called me out of the blue and they're like, are you still doing this? So just be very intentional and don't be afraid to speak up with what you want.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Challenge-wise, I would say figuring out how to educate students given the resources that we have. That's always been a challenge, and just really being purposeful and intentional of supporting students appropriately. Opportunity-wise, there's so much. We need more educators, we need more leaders, we need people that want to do this work. So I think that's a huge opportunity. As a leader in my current role, I believe it's my responsibility to make them see possibilities. When I talk to new people that we interview, I'm like, hey, is leadership something you're wanting? And it's my responsibility to give them those resources and the information and the opportunities to practice their leadership skills to get into those next roles. So I feel like that is our responsibility to continue not only educating the students in our classroom, but also the teachers that are teaching into new opportunities too.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think relationships are huge in both work and personal life. Relationships are, of course, give and take. I don't ever ask someone to do something I'm unwilling to do myself, and that has served me well in work, but also in my home too. I also value my family, my friends, and my coworkers, but I value fun. I want to go to work and I want to have fun, and I don't want to just go in and be grumpy and then leave. I want to go, I want to have fun, I want to think about things, I want to be challenged, I want to laugh.
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