MIKIE SHERRILL
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- Created: 15 December 2025
(Click the link below for the full story)
https://www.therestonletter.com/post/making-an-impact-mikie-sherrill
AWAKENINGS: Short Stories of Moments That Shape Us
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- Created: 31 October 2025
AWAKENINGS: Short Stories of Moments That Shape Us--by Chuck Cascio
Can fiction create awakenings? Only you, the reader, can decide.
The ten stories in AWAKENINGS: Short Stories of Moments That Shape Us have many scenes, actions, settings, conflicts, moments. Different characters create awakenings--sometimes without knowing it--for one another, for themselves, and for others. We all have those moments. It could be a word, a phrase, a look, an event, or just a thought that passes and then returns and then grows and then...we awaken! Many times, we do not realize the moments that made that impact until time has passed. And sometimes we do not see the moments in ourselves at all, yet we do see them in others. But perhaps we do have to see inside ourselves in order to be awakened.
When I started writing these short stories, I didn’t know how they’d evolve—but I believed in the moments that shaped us. I can now watch AWAKENINGS take its first breaths as a published work. I hope these pages find their way into your hands and your heart. From the first idea scribbled down to the final edit, this collection has been an act of faith and love. Each story is an exploration of life’s turning points; the fleeting seconds that hold the power to change everything. Grab a copy, go on a short-story journey, and let’s talk about which moment resonated with you.
Copyright: Chuck Cascio; all rights reserved
Army 10-Miler
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- Created: 06 October 2025
(The following piece was written by my former student Roxanne Turner Boughner and is featured here with her permission. It was written before the event faced possible cancelation due to the government shutdown. Copyright: Roxanne Boughner, all rights reserved.)
WHY I WILL NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE ARMY 10-MILER
by
ROXANNE TURNER
Today is a sad day as I have decided not to participate in the Army 10-miler 2025, which is to be held on October 12 in Washington, D.C. I ran this race many moons ago, and it was truly an experience of a lifetime. I remember slowly walking to the starting line with almost 35,000 fellow runners. I had goose bumps as the excitement of the race was unfolding while paratroopers jumped out of airplanes. I didn’t track my run because I wanted to fully immerse myself in the experience.
To me a big part of what makes this race so meaningful is the community that comes out to support it! The streets are lined with people from diverse backgrounds, bands, and the sprinkling of bag pipers. The encouragement, support, and pride of the community was tremendous and I couldn’t stop smiling as I ran at my slow and steady pace. I had the pleasure of running alongside a 90-year-old man, platoons, and people running in teams. It was incredibly moving to run by the historic monuments and buildings, a representation of what makes America a special place. Yes, we were there celebrating and supporting the U.S. Army, but it was also a moment to cherish the community that makes D.C. so special. When I reminisce on that experience, it felt like in that moment, both civilians and military personnel were congruent in living the Army Values:
· Loyalty – Bear truth, faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit and other soldiers.
· Duty – Fulfill your obligations.
· Respect-Treat people as they should be treated.
· Selfless Service-Put the welfare of the Nation, the Army and your subordinates before your own.
· Honor-Live up to Army values.
· Integrity- Do what’s right, legally and morally.
· Personal Courage- Face fear, danger or adversity (physical or moral). (1)
Now, here we are in Fall of 2025, with the National Guard deployed to Washington, D.C. and authorized to carry guns. The military is designed to protect us from foreign wars and invasion, and neither one of those is happening. In these times when I am conflicted about what to do, I think of my father, a Vietnam vet who served in the U.S. Air Force and is buried in Arlington Cemetery with his grandfather, who retired from the U.S. Army. Both were men of great integrity who defended the rights of all. They would be horrified that the military is being used against U.S. civilians in conflict with the Constitution.
My great-grandfather would be the loudest voice in the room because he fought in World War II and witnessed the atrocities of war first hand! Neither man would be okay with what we are seeing in Washington, D.C. and across the country; violence against citizens, people’s rights being violated, inhumanity and, frankly two sets of rules. This is the antithesis of everything they stood for and fought for.
Why am I deciding not to participate in a race that I hold so dear even though I have been wanting to run in it again for the last 10-plus years? It is because I have been mortified and disgusted by what I have seen going on in our country and especially the deafening silence of those who have sworn--and should have remembered--their oath to the Constitution, not to party or person. I have been very conflicted since the National Guard was deployed while unidentified federal agents tackle and threaten Brown and Black individuals in the streets.
Participating might in some way imply that I support the dismantling of our Constitution and American Democracy that is occurring in D.C. or that military role in our city streets is at all acceptable. I am watching the militarization of our nation, the suppression of opposition, and the wrecking ball fall on what made America a nation of individual rights. I do not want to be complicit in my silence either. None of this is acceptable. I have struggled with what to do and I know it is a small stance to say I will not be participating in this year’s Army 10-Miler. Maybe you too will consider not participating in this event or others until we find our way back to the road of “We The People.”
(1) Daniels Chip. chapter 5 , p 63. Leadership Lessons from West Point, San Francisco, Ca: Jossey-bass; 2007
DEI Must Not DIE
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- Created: 04 April 2025
A Broadway Show Reminds Us: DEI Must Not DIE!
by Chuck Cascio
chuckwrites@yahoo.com
What do some people think is gained by hiding, rather than emphasizing, diversity?
Why do some people think children today must be “protected” from knowing that there are other children growing up with less...or more...than they have?
What is gained by keeping today’s students from learning the full reality of USA history?
Every day, actions are being implemented to the detriment of society and learning. But a Broadway show recently brought a piece of reality rushing home to me. Hell's Kitchen is the gripping story of brilliant singer/songwriter Alicia Keys, who grew up in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. A young woman with a White mother and Black father falls in love with music and her community at an early age. She listens intently to street singers and learns music formally and informally from various sources.
The live-theater show featured a number of Keys's songs, including hits like “Girl On Fire”, “Empire State of Mind”, “No One”, and 21 others. Hearing the songs in the context of the young woman maturing magnified their already significant meaning, and the superb choreography added emphasis to each song’s lyrics and overall impact. The combined elements of the show conveyed messages that everyone must keep in mind and that today’s youth, in particular, need to be made aware of.
In the show that I saw, practically all of the actors and performers appeared to be minorities. Mostly young and young-ish people who have clearly devoted their lives to art...no doubt continuously hoping to have the opportunity to perform in a show like "Hell's Kitchen." As I watched those incredibly talented performers, I could not help but think that at some point in their lives someone probably asked them, "Why are you pursuing a career in that field?" But they stuck with it. They valued their love of not only their particular art--be it singing, dancing, musicianship, acting, writing, producing, etc.--but also of the potential impact that their art could have on others.
We are increasingly cheating the youth of today out of the opportunity to recognize that passion, intellect, and absolute genius come in many different forms.
Theater helps convey that.
Reading classic books helps convey that.
Music--current and past, popular and classical--helps convey that.
Seeing, reading, hearing, and learning stories of people who have grown up in various situations but have nevertheless pursued their passion convey an important reality--life is different for everyone. Just because an individual matures in a different environment or pursues a different passion or is of a different culture does not mean they should be erased! Erasure limits the scope of thought throughout society, and limiting the scope of thought narrows thinking to focus only on self-specific beliefs and actions.
If I could, I would take young people to see Hell's Kitchen and afterward I would encourage them to chat about the powerful reality of the story—how some people grow up in very different environments, yet they too possess the desire to succeed and, given the opportunity to do so, they will use their commitment and unique genius to do so in ways that may seem different to many others.
We gain nothing as individuals or as a society by limiting our exposure.
We gain nothing as individuals or as a society by narrowing vision, opportunity, and appreciation.
We grow stronger as individuals and as a society by exercising in multiple ways, by seeing that creativity is another form of genius, and that intellect can be expressed in many different ways.
Many lyrics from “Hell’s Kitchen” made an enormous impact on me, but the following two songs resonated most because they capture so much of Alicia Keys’s story, a story that some “leaders” seem determined to negate. These lyrics from the song “Empire State of Mind” remain in my head weeks after seeing the performance:
"In New York,
Those words can apply to anyone anywhere who is given an opportunity that they might not otherwise have when opportunities are taken from them. And the following words from “Girl on Fire” capture the inner spirit waiting to be released, to be given the opportunity that exists in the dreams of everyone everywhere, but that too many people today seem determined to crush:
“She′s living in a world and it's on fire
Filled with catastrophe, but she knows she can fly away
Everybody stares as she goes by
'Cause they can see the flame that's in her eyes
Watch her as she′s lighting up the night
Nobody knows that she′s a lonely girl
And it's a lonely world
But she gon′ let it burn, baby, burn, baby
This girl is on fire
This girl is on fire
She's walking on fire
This girl is on fire”
Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. They must not die! We gain nothing by taking actions that extinguish those fires. Politicians, educators, religious leaders, EVERYONE has a responsibility to fan the internal flames so people can grow, experience others, recognize differences, and see that whether they come from Hell’s Kitchen or someplace else, they are accepted, and welcomed, and understood.
Copyright: Chuck Cascio; all rights reserved.
Contact: chuckwrites@yahoo.com
THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION ORGANIZATIONS TODAY!
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- Created: 17 February 2025
THE ROLE OF EDUCATION-RELATED ORGANIZATIONS IN THE USA HAS NEVER BEEN MORE IMPORTANT! TIME FOR THEM TO BE RECOGNIZED, SUPPORTED, AND URGED TO JOIN THEIR INITIATIVES!
(With that in mind, I will periodically be featuring blogs by education-related nonprofits who do ground-floor work that is extremely important today, as we see federal and state-level education initiatives being marginalized or eradicated. The following blog was recently posted by the Urban Schools Human Capital Academy, an organization that focuses on the increasing needs for hiring, supporting, and retaining education-related staff in school systems around the country. See more about USHCA at https://ushcacademy.org/ or write to me at chuckwrites@yahoo.com. Copyright for this piece is owned by the Urban Schools Human Capital Academy, all rights reserved.)
Earlier this month, our team had the privilege of presenting at Arizona State University's Strategic School Staffing Summit, part of the Next Education Workforce initiative. The energy in the room was undeniable as education leaders across the country confronted a shared challenge: with NAEP scores at historic lows and teacher shortages reaching crisis levels, school systems are being forced to rethink how they organize and manage talent to better serve students. The traditional staffing model—one teacher responsible for everything in a single classroom—can no longer meet the diverse needs of today’s learners. This approach is placing unsustainable workloads on teachers and not delivering the results students desperately need. Whether it’s academic struggles, mental health challenges, or social-emotional needs, our students require more than a single teacher—they need a well-supported team of educators who can collaborate and provide the expertise necessary for success. It's time for a fundamental shift.
Strategic Staffing Models: The What
Strategic staffing models offer a solution by moving beyond the traditional one-teacher-per-classroom structure. These innovative approaches align staffing with the needs of students by creating flexible teams of educators who bring complementary skills and expertise to the table. While there is no one-size-fits-all strategic staffing template, effective models typically include approaches like co-teaching, specialized roles, and partnerships with community organizations. The goal is to match the expertise and capacity of your staff with the unique needs of your students, rather than forcing talent into rigid, predetermined positions. For HR leaders, this requires working closely with instructional leadership to understand and co-design staffing solutions to meet student needs.
Getting Your Department Ready: The How
Adopting new strategic staffing models also demands that HR departments build new capabilities that support the transformation of existing systems. Traditional HR structures—designed for a world of standard teaching positions and the classic one-teacher classrooms—often lack the flexibility needed to manage team-based, non-traditional staffing models.
To succeed, HR departments must upgrade three core areas of operations: data systems, policy and regulatory expertise, and internal processes. Here’s what HR teams need to focus on in each area:
1. Data Systems and Analysis To support strategic staffing, HR must expand its data collection beyond basic certification and years of experience. New systems must be implemented to track specialized skills, certifications, and capabilities. Additionally, HR should map out talent distribution across the district, which helps identify potential gaps and opportunities for innovation. To aid in this, HR will need to build data visualization tools that help principals and school leaders track staffing assignments and optimize team structures.
2. Policy and Regulatory Expertise One of the biggest challenges in strategic staffing is navigating policy constraints. HR leaders must understand certification flexibility, "teacher of record" regulations, and class size requirements. To be effective, HR must develop creative solutions within existing frameworks, working closely with state education agencies, teacher unions, and other stakeholders to ensure new staffing models comply with policy. Moreover, documenting successful models and best practices will be invaluable as your system looks to scale strategic staffing.
3. Internal Systems and Processes HR systems must be adapted to support more flexible staffing arrangements. This includes developing processes for managing shared staff, such as co-teachers or specialists who serve multiple schools or classrooms. HR departments may also need to create alternative pay structures and performance management systems that recognize specialized skills and contributions beyond the traditional classroom setting. In addition, HR must adjust its professional development and support structures to ensure teams of educators are well-coordinated and equipped for success. Furthermore, creating templates for non-traditional roles is essential for ensuring consistency and clarity across the district.
The Bottom Line
Strategic staffing isn’t just an innovative idea—it’s a necessity for improving student outcomes and creating sustainable careers in education. HR departments play a critical role in this transformation. By preparing now, HR leaders can help shape these conversations, driving change in a way that better serves students, staff, and the broader community.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid As you prepare for the shift to strategic staffing, be mindful of some common pitfalls that can hinder progress:
● Don’t wait to be invited. HR must request a seat at the table and be an active participant in the planning and design of new staffing models.
● Avoid starting with "no." Challenge assumptions and look for creative solutions to overcome barriers.
● Don’t assume principals know what’s possible. Many school leaders may not fully understand the potential of new staffing models, so HR must be proactive in educating and guiding them.
● Move beyond compliance. Transition from merely meeting regulatory requirements to being a true strategic partner in the transformation process.
Ready to Transform?
If you’re interested in learning more about how to prepare your HR department for strategic staffing initiatives and assess your team’s readiness for transformation, we’d love to help. Contact us today to explore how we can support your district’s shift toward more innovative, effective staffing models that can ultimately lead to better student outcomes and a more sustainable workforce.