If you are a regular listener of Anchored in Education, then you’ve heard my guest today on four previous episodes. And each time Charley Cass joins us he enlightens us with thought-provoking conversations. The other thing you would notice about my previous episodes with Charley is that they cover a wide variety of topics. We’ve tackled such topics like awards and accolades given to students for academics, we’ve talked about the crucial role support personnel play, we’ve talked about family engagement, and we’ve talked about navigating that first year as a superintendent. And since that final conversation, Charley published a book: Leaving Poverty: On Purpose and For Good. 

I had no clue when I received my copy what I was going to learn. I knew Charley had led some talks and workshops on poverty. I didn’t realize that he used personal experiences to help educate others on what poverty looks like from that lens. As Charley says, he is a rags to middle class story. A story that I’m sure decades ago would never have pegged a young Mr. Cass to grow up to become an Illinois Principal of the Year among other accolades.