Cassandra Barker-Carr
K-12 Principal Strategist
ACT, Inc.
Milestones
My road in life has taken me all over.
I grew up in a small town in Louisiana with limited exposure to careers outside of K-12 education and the oil field. Experiences in a program at Grambling State University gave me new possibilities.
Being a part of the Women's Basketball team at University of Louisiana at Monroe gave me a support system similar to that of my family; a home away from home.
Upon graduating with a BA in Psychology, I had a better understanding of people but was unsure how to translate that skill in to a career so I enrolled in graduate school.
Becoming a teacher in the K-12 setting gave me a new purpose in life. The urban schools in which I chose to work helped me to see the incredible impact educators make on a day-to-day basis.
Became a high school and then middle school principal by the time I was 30. Overcame issues with trust in my leadership by directly involving educators & remaining focused on outcomes for students.
In each setting, my intent was to impact every student in the building with what I had learned along my career journey.
My most defining moment was when I had my daughter, she is the oldest of my two kids. At that point, the work that I was doing as an educator became really real.
In 2004, I began looking for an organization making a huge impact on the world with a mission that aligned with my own. Finding an organization like ACT has been a paramount moment in my career.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Lake Arthur High School
Lake Arthur High School
Career
K-12 Principal Strategist
Use ACT data insights with K-12 organizations to develop initiatives that ultimately lead to improved student outcomes.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Education
Numbers
Helping People
Day to Day
For me, everyday is a great day of work however the most fulfilling days are when I have helped someone to look at ACT data differently than they have in the past and together we've discovered a new way to integrate it into their everyday decision making for students.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Society in General:
""Ni**er B***h". Athletes are dumb. "All lives matter" as a response to "Black lives matter" to diminish the emphasis on Black people and Black issues. You have advanced because of affirmative action - Black and a woman."
