Sain Returns to Hardeman County

Casshawndra Sain returns to Hardeman County to fill the principalship position for Whiteville Elementary School.

“It wasn’t something that I was looking for, but I do think that it was something God ordained,” said Sain.

During the first week of July, Sain and her husband attempted to get the license and clearance to set up a fireworks booth in Jackson, but after little success, the couple came to Bolivar to set up.

Sain said she could not have expected or planned for what happened over the next few days.

“While we were selling fireworks, someone came by and just started talking about the different positions that were open here in Hardeman County,” said Sain.

The conversation occurred on a Monday, and after a couple of days of consideration and prayer, Sain put in her application for the principalship position at Whiteville Elementary School on Wednesday.

By Friday, Sain had received a phone call, was interviewed for the position and offered the job.

“I had to kind of think about it, and pray about it,” said Sain. “And of course, I wanted to be sure that where I was leaving would be okay because of  my responsibilities there.”

Sain was going on her tenth year as assistant principal at Southside High School in Jackson, where she also served as the athletic director and SPED teacher.

After a family meeting and a talk with her former principal, Sain accepted the position and officially began work on July 11.

“I went from where I was familiar and experienced a lot of success to come to the unfamiliar and not really knowing what type of success to expect,” said Sain. “It has been probably one of the most overwhelmingly gracious experiences that I have had the privilege to experience.”

Upon graduating from Lambuth University with a physical education degree in 2000, Sain struggled to find an open position in her field, so she sought counsel and decided to return to Lambuth to complete the base program for a special education certificate.

“I ended up with my endorsement for SPED, k-12 modified and then I went back and got my Master’s and administrative license from Bethel University,” said Sain.

Sain graduated in 2014, after which she taught at the elementary and middle school level, one year of which was in Whiteville at the Technological school and one year at Whiteville Middle School, but after acquiring her administrative license, she worked at the high school level where she served a few different roles until this academic year.

“I have taken away something from my elementary phase, from my middle school phase, and high school phase, but what they all have taught me is that children want to be loved, want to be valued, and so teaching them that they have a voice and that they are worthy and that they can do things, really drives me,” said Sain.

While Sain believes her experiences have prepared her in many ways, she said more than all else motherhood has prepared her for the position she is in now.

Sain is a mother to six children, Javarus Stewart, Jerrious Sain, Kiya Sain, Kierra Sain, Kaeli Sain, and Enrico Sain II, and a grandmother to three with one on the way.

Sain said being a mother as well as a grandmother has helped her look at students from a different lens as a caregiver, a nurturer and how she would want someone to treat her own children.

“It is really difficult if you are hungry or if your lights were turned off last night, or if you’re coming to school, and you don't feel that you're loved or valued,” added Sain. “So our environment has to be conducive for students to feel safe and loved, and so we’re going to work extra hard for that.”

Sain’s focus this school year is to reset and refocus mindsets and expectations.

“You know many have so many other things going on outside of the classroom but I think if we can deal with the holistic child, the emotional, the mental, the physical things, then I think the academics will come,” said Sain. “Everything will be student-centered, and we are going to look at the data to see where there may be a disconnect with what the curriculum is and what's being taught, as well as at our intervention to see how we can better help students that are in need of some additional support in the classroom.”

In addition to the students, Sain believes the teachers need to be supported as well.

“It’s really difficult now to be in education,” said Sain. “The expectations of educators is that they have to be perfect, but there’s no perfect person, and on their worst day they are still making a difference in the lives of children, so I want to undergird our teachers and our staff and let them know that they are valued, that we love them and that they are making a difference.”

Sain said she is not in a position yet to make a whole lot of change, but in picking up where Mr. Crisp left off, she hopes to evaluate what works, what doesn’t work, and ensure the changes moving forward are in the best interest of the students and staff.

“It’s a marathon and not a sprint, and so I am trying to pace myself, do what I can do, and be effective in what I’m doing,” said Sain. “We’ll see how things go, make notes, and get feedback, and then adjust things as we go if necessary.”

Sain said she is humbled by her position, but it is not something she takes lightly.

“When I took this position, Luke 12:48, which is to whom much is given, much is required, was something that we let off with the staff,” said Sain. “We’ve all been blessed with many gifts and talents, but we are to use those gifts and talents to do the very best we can to help other people.”

“If everybody’s working together, then we can accomplish our end goal,” she added.

When Sain is not at school, she invests her time with family and serves in her church alongside her husband.

Sain and her husband are currently in the process of purchasing a home in either Whiteville or Bolivar.

“I plan to do what God says to do, but this is home for me,” said Sain. “When I came, I came with the intent of staying, but sometimes my plans are not God’s plans.”

Sain said she knows God has a purpose and a plan, and right now it is investing in the Whiteville Elementary School and community.

“I want to be invested and be here, so I’m going to walk this thing out according to what He wants done,” she concluded.