You possess so many skills as a teacher that can be used working outside of the classroom. There are companies that find your experience and skills valuable, but it’s just taking the leap, or as my guest would say, pivot. Casey Agena, an education consultant, shares his journey and how working in ed tech can be the right fit for you.

Casey and I have a flowing conversation about a variety of topics regarding the school system, utilizing your skill set, and how working in ed tech allows you to help improve the education system and student learning. 

If you're looking to be in education in a different way, consider working in ed tech. You already have the skills and educational language that will make you an asset and valuable for any company. Casey gives advice and shows you how to pivot your career that keep you moving forward. 

For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.educatorforever.com/episode24

Watch our free on-demand workshop to learn more about flexible work opportunities beyond the classroom: https://www.educatorforever.com/workshop

Take our free quiz to discover your next career step: https://www.educatorforever.com/quiz

Follow us on Instagram @educatorforever.

Lily

Casey Agena is an education consultant based in Honolulu, Hawaii, and has varied experienced in education, technology, curriculum and finance. Most recently, he has supported school teams and ed tech companies in the K 12 and higher ed space as a technical writer and provided support with his knowledge of funding streams in the public sector for education. When he's not working, he can be found playing with his three children, surfing, or watching the Boston Red Sox.

Lily

Welcome, Casey, so glad you're here with us.

Casey

Oh, thanks. Awesome to be here.

Lily

Wonderful. Well, I like to start with the same question every time, which is tell us about your journey as an educator.

Casey

Being here and from the 50th state, it's been kind of a wild journey by myself, with my wife, with my kids. And they have been part of the journey as well. Classroom teacher for many years in both elementary and middle school, worked in Boston, worked in San Francisco, worked in Seattle, right here in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Casey

And then was able to take I guess, everything that I've done, working with children, working with families, working with colleagues, working with administrators, working the policy level with government, and figuring out how all those pieces of that puzzle really kind of helped to bring a picture together of what that map of that journey is.

Casey

And it wasn't until about five years ago, where I really had a sense that I quote, unquote, do things for myself that I didn't have to have this reliance on somebody else to be my personal and professional compass, that I could actually kind of help dictate that.

Casey

And that's where that kind of bridge from not only continuing to work in schools and districts at the state level where I love doing my work, but being able to bridge that to the whole ecosystem of education, not only k 12, higher ed, but those partners, nonprofit, for profit, corporations, ed tech companies. All of that, that really makes up the experience of education for our children, students now.

Casey

And it's been a really wild ride, I guess, in terms of a journey. It's and it's, and it's still going and it's still going.

Lily

Yes, I love that. And I love how you pointed out that it was like this realization that you could kind of have some control and agency over your professional journey. And I think that that is something that I work with teachers a lot around, you know, empowering teachers to be the voice that we need and the change that we need in education, but it starts by empowering yourself.

Lily

And I think that you can't really go on to that next level until you have that realization, or take the leap or kind of decide, right, like, Hey, I'm gonna do something else, and that I can do it. And I think it's especially sometimes hard for teachers who was like, systemically, were not given a voice to take that step forward.

Casey

And it's not like you're, you're completely creating a whole new persona for yourself and work. It really is this ideology that take all of the things that you have done before, looking at all the skills that you have that really highlight the type of person and professional that you are, and how might you be able to pivot that pivot keyword, to something that is really meaningful for you for quote, unquote, the next chapter in your life or whatever it may be.

Casey

And I think those those transcending skills, as well as all of those experiences really do lend itself to many different facets of just learning. And as we're starting to see a number of educators kind of whether it's getting burnt out, whether it's getting tired, whether it's like hey, you know, I've done this, I feel like I need to do something else.

Casey

Particularly in the past 12 to 24 months as we're kind of seeing this both feeling as well as thought provoking pieces on LinkedIn, or what stories people like educators are saying that I'm kind of looking for something else. Yet, there's this stuckness too like, do I really fit in that? I've really worked myself into this position, and I don't think I have those transferable skills but they actually do.

Lily

Absolutely, yes, for sure. And I think some of it is like, we think that to do something new has to be completely new. And that, you know, you take for granted all the things that you've learned in the classroom and learn from being a teacher, which is different for all of us, you know, so having that reflective time of just like, yeah, what have I have learned on a broad scale, and taking that forward into the next chapter.

Casey

It's small things like, you know, I think working in K 12, for example, even though I might be doing some different consulting, and I might be doing some different things, not necessarily in the classroom with kids, I'm doing really kind of whole ecosystem of, of education. The small thing is that there's still this kind of, there's still the bouncer at the door there.

Casey

Whenever you're working with educators, they, especially if you're not in the classroom, they want to know, have you done it before? Do you know how it feels? Like, it's like that bouncer at the door.

Casey

Whether you're doing a professional development, or you're coming in to speak or like, you know, especially if you have these teachers who it's maybe it's 330 In the afternoon, and it's this person have coming in, I'm tired. I what's for dinner tonight, like all these things, and they're gonna check out and talking to them.

Casey

So I mean, it's, it's it's small things like, you know, continuing to hold on to my teaching certificate paying the, I don't know, 55 some odd dollars.

Lily

Every time I'm like, "I guess I'll renew it."

Casey

Yeah, and I think it's a small thing. But it's so meaningful for teachers like, okay, it's, it's like you're, you know, I'm over 21 I can go into the club.

Lily

I love that idea. I mean, it's so true. And I think it's like also a testament to how much bad PD and bad experiences teachers are put through, where it's like, you have to, you know, it makes you a little bit skeptical, sometimes trying to suss out who's legit.

Casey

Yeah. I don't know where that comes from. I haven't tried to try to figure it out in terms of why we feel this way? Why I feel like I felt that way too maybe when I was in the classroom, like, do they know, like this person coming in and talking to us?

Casey

Do they really know if they're a consultant? Or if they're providing PD? Or if it's a sales rep trying to, like, help us procure something like, do they really know what it's like?

Lily

Yeah, totally. Totally. I know. I mean, I think it's multi layered, probably. But so much of it, I think, is like teachers not having a voice in their day to day life. So then somebody else comes in with like, a louder voice, you know? And so it's like, yeah, why do they get to come in and like, tell me what to do in my classroom? And I can't even tell anybody of like, what's working in my classroom.

Lily

Like, I feel like a lot of it is just this, like systemic, putting teachers down, that makes them skeptical of anybody, even if it's like, the best, right? Where you're like, oh, it's the best like this is really helping me being put in that place over and over, I feel like you don't have a voice and makes you skeptical, and burnout and not open to many of the things we want teachers to be open to.

Casey

It's going to be really interesting, I think, from this point, moving forward, the system as a whole for preparing teachers, to onboarding teachers, to supporting them throughout their career. I feel like we're this real kind of pivotal moment, kind of looking forward on, what does the industry look like?

Casey

There's the fiscal piece on how do we, how much do we recognize the work that educators do? And what is their worth? There is the, I guess, the system piece where we've always talked about, you know, the pipeline of from pre service, whether it's at the university or whatnot, kind of the onboarding to the hiring, recruiting, what is it felt so fragmented in the past, I'm wondering, and even now, I'm wondering if that's going to change kind of moving forward.

Casey

The skill set of the teachers that will be in the classrooms from for the next few years moving forward. And we've always talked about those things changing and like, you know, the 21st century students and the 21st century teachers, that sort of thing. We're in the 21st century.

Casey

So what are those skill sets that are really needed? With all that's kind of being thrown our way from AI to chat GPT to all of these things that are part of our livelihood, right now. And how much of that effect impacts the classroom and what skills do they have? So it's a real pivotal time here for us.

Casey

As myself having young ones in elementary school, you know, I'm just starting out on their, their learning journey. And so, what's in it for them kind of moving forward? And I'm, I think that's kind of helped me to figure out what can I do to be a participant in the environment for which they're learning in and how can I help?

Lily

Mm hmm, absolutely. I know, I had that same experience after my kids started elementary school too of being like, Oh, it's just, it's a different angle, you know, and you see it even more, I think, you know, you have multiple kids as do I. And so it's like seeing different kids go through the same system too is interesting of just like, what works for each kid and what doesn't work and seeing it from a teacher side and a parent side too.

Lily

I think, yeah, I agree that we're at a pivotal moment where it's like, I really hope there is this openness, which goes back to kind of what we were saying before with teachers, you know, feel really solid sometimes and definitely empathize, you know, of not so open to the new ideas.

Lily

And I think also on like, big, big, large scale levels, you know, it's like, either we can be open to these new ideas of like, yeah, how do we use AI in the classroom? Or how can we think about compensating teachers differently? Or how can we think about creating different career pathways for teachers that don't just end with being in the classroom? You know, some people want to move on and do other things as we did.

Lily

So thinking a little bit more holistically about all the different parts. And are we going to be open to it and think about other alternatives? Or is it like, we're gonna just keep trying to fit things in this old way of doing things and see what fits and try and kind of squeeze it in, which I think is not really working. So I hope the first way.

Casey

Well, that's where I think the leadership is going to be key too on one, how individuals are managing and leading education organizations, how adept they are to understanding the challenges that teachers have, and that students and families have currently moving forward.

Casey

And how open are they to not doing the easy way, but really challenging themselves to really moving forward? I think, I think that that's going to be tough.

Lily

Yeah. And like aligning to what really matters. You know, I think sometimes it's like, you have to just step out of all the things we've been doing, and be like, Well, what really what do we really want to teach kids? Like, what is important? What are the things we want them all to graduate knowing and being able to do and then kind of going backwards from there.

Casey

And even on that end, too, I think maybe we're seeing even to small things like requirements for college application are changing. I mean, it's not, you know, the same old of get your SATs or ACT scores high and get this on your transcript and get these recommendations. And that's it. And I think we're seeing from the university side of things, changes happening there as well.

Lily

Yeah, absolutely. And like, how do we build a system that's dynamic, because things will always be changing, right? And things like that's also how we learn and how we get better, right, is by adapting and making these changes. So how can that be built in?

Lily

You know, that it's not just like, alright, we're getting things, we're doing things kind of, for what works right now, but also having kind of a feedback loop and ways of checking in moving forward.

Casey

There's many solutions out there to kind of help educators move that needle help educators to kind of get through that. And and I think, with myself working with a few different education technology ed tech companies, it wasn't until I really started working with them how much work they are doing to solve a problem with the end in mind.

Casey

They know that this product is going to do X for the sake and benefit of the teachers, the classrooms in the student, whether it's a software developer, a data analysts, the quality assurance person, the customer success, they're making a product or widget, they're selling it.

Casey

But there's a reason and rationale, why too that there is this gap that they recognize, and they're going to do their darndest to figure it out a way how to close that gap and looking for schools and systems that would want to adopt it to address it.

Lily

Mm hmm. Yeah, I mean, I think that's interesting to think about how ed tech or kind of places outside of school districts, you know, can work to improve the landscape of education. And I think, you know, I've worked in ed tech also for many years now, and I think there are like, are people who are doing these amazing products and creating these amazing services for great reasons.

Lily

And based on research and based on real gaps. I think there also could be like, people who don't have the educational experience that they need and go out and create these products or like recreating things that we know don't work.

Lily

I hear from you about your experience working with Ed Tech, both kind of like how you moved into that landscape of working in ed tech and the types of work you've done and just how you see the role of teacher voice fitting in there.

Casey

Well, the quick story is right after my twins were born, they are now in second grade. But right after they were born, my wife had a awesome job opportunity in the Bay Area and kind of looked at each other and said, hey, you know, let's go, let's do it. That's an awesome opportunity. Let's sell our home in Honolulu, let's let's kind of pack up our things where we have grandparents and family and everything. And let's, let's do this on our own.

Casey

Casey

And I felt like it was an not only a restart button, family wise, but it was an opportunity, I think, to restart what I was going to do next that I was in a school site for over a decade, and how might I get into something that was different?

Casey

Luckily, I was able to land at a nonprofit, and what the work was this nonprofit and through gates foundation grant was to take a look at early stage ed tech companies like just starting out, and get them into classrooms and school districts in the Bay Area and see, see how it works in terms of the both the procurement side of things and adoption, all the way to the user and the students and the teachers and let's get some feedback.

Casey

And so I had about 12 companies to start that first year. And it was it was super exciting to be in this unique space, grant funded nonprofit work, but around education technology, and that really jumpstarted things. I mean, I got to talk to teachers, I got to survey students, I got to send out surveys to parents and leadership.

Casey

And then of course, talking to the companies themselves about here's the feedback that we got on what's working, what's not working. Here's some things that they're saying about how to improve the user interface or whatnot. And not only that the companies want that information, but their funders, the VCs, who are helping to support these early stage companies wanted to know about it, too.

Casey

So that's a story about my kind of entry into it. And I think it was at that moment that I found that I could ride the fence, right, I could play on both sides of the fence, being on the educator side, leadership, but then also being able to have the headspace and just the capacity to talk and address and, uh, work with companies as well on how they can improve. And so from that point, it just really kind of took off.

Lily

That's awesome. Yeah, that sounds like such a unique and interesting position to jump into at the beginning. I had a somewhat like, when I first left the classroom work for Teaching Channel, which at that point was also a nonprofit, and they were making videos of teachers all over the country.

Lily

And for me, it was like, Oh, my gosh, I get to see inside all these teachers classrooms after being in my own classroom for so long, and like not seeing other teachers. And it seems like a similar experience just to being able to get a broader look at things.

Casey

Yeah. And the conversations, the connections, it double, it was more like it was three dimensional. Like it just went that way. Going to different ad tech conferences, South by Southwest EDU, but going in not as an educator, but going in as this kind of unique person, scary, but also super fulfilling too.

Casey

And I really kind of look back at that as something that was super helpful for me, just to be introduced to the corporate side of education as well. But with a lens that I had, all these years, over a decade of of teaching as well, to be going at it with something different, that it wasn't just a sales rep or something like that. I just kind of matriculated into education technology, but I came from a place that was meaningful.

Casey

So I think that has really, when I look back, just as talking right now. It's like, wow, that was a really kind of a really awesome time.

Lily

Yeah, that's great. That's great. And then what have you done since then? I know you've done a lot of things of that. Tell us about kind of after that what you started doing?

Casey

Yeah, so I started doing some consulting work in the Bay Area, which I never thought of myself as a consultant at the time, but it seems like I kind of just fell into it. Where one there was a couple of districts and even at the county level in the Bay Area, government right government entity wanting to take me on saying, hey, you know, we need some help and kind of looking at our fiscal solvency are we on track?

Casey

One, and how do we know that what we're buying is actually being used? Yeah, good question. And so, so I really started getting into the procurement side of things like what they were buying, were it was it aligned with their, their mission vision? Like, is it all or is it just hodgepodge and out there?

Casey

So once I started to understand the revenue streams, and the vehicles for purchasing and procurement and kind of looking at whole, like RFP process all of those things from their side, that was when the first company had reached out said, Hey, I see your background in terms of procurement, as a buyer, did you ever think about taking those skill sets and coming to the dark side, and being a seller?

Casey

I was like, I never thought about it. You know, it's it's it's school districts and states that are pushing out RFPs for procuring your product. We're the ones responding to them. And you know, what responses garner interest or ones that are out the door? Yeah.

Casey

But you kind of help us and help us not only in terms of technical writing, but would you be able to do some internal learning for our company on like, how are schools funded? Who do we talk to that really is the person that we should be talking to, versus cold calling out, spam, emailing, like, here, I have this cool widget that you should buy, it's going to change your life.

Casey

Which, as you know, educators and school leaders get a plethora of that that goes right into the trash. And so that's where I kind of got into really kind of finding a niche in the ed tech side of things.

Lily

Yeah, that's so interesting. And just hearing you talk about the technical writing, and procurement and all these things that are not really explicitly connected to being a teacher, I'm curious of if that felt overwhelming moving into that world, or how you learned about these things.

Casey

It was a hard learn. But initially, I made mistakes, because it wasn't always just painting, a nice picture for somebody to purchase. But there were some really hard questions that I had to learn, because it's not just getting in an ed tech product, but is it going to work in the system that we already have?

Casey

So understanding the technical requirements as well, was the was a hard part that I really had to catch myself up on privacy and security, which we know is important. But when you get down to the nitty gritty on like, what are the facets of privacy and security that a product has and doesn't have that fit with laws and compliance, that with all of those pieces that I that I that I had to kind of catch up on.

Casey

And it took about, I guess two or three years for me to feel really confident in being able to talk with that. And then of course, right at that moment was when the pandemic came in, and COVID. And interestingly, that's when work really started to ramp up. Because we were going to remote learning, we're going to some different pieces right away.

Casey

And monies were readily available to procure this not through the traditional RFP process. But to do it hard and fast and how we're going to do this. So it was a real, while things were quote, unquote, stopping and slowing down, on the ed tech side, it was like it was a crazy roller coaster.

Casey

And then moving forward, as we're seeing different funding vehicles like esser money and all that money that's kind of helping to bridge the learning loss to moving forward how a product is aligned with those key principles of SRM money where you can fit and you can be procured and you can be aligned.

Casey

All of those pieces in the in the legislation and that policy is off from the classroom. Is your product address, social emotional learning? Does it address learning loss? Is it aligned with our 21st century skills? Does it extend and help students beyond school time?

Casey

So all of those types of language when it landed in the lap of sales reps, and they would turn to me saying, what are those words? Help us explain what is this? What is this social emotional learning that they Is this a new thing? And so all of those things from the classroom now came back.

Casey

And I really had a chance to then help create some alignment with the products that different companies had to what the funding streams were so that procurement and use and adoption could be much easier.

Lily

Yeah, so interesting. And as an outsider, it's like, oh, yeah, you're the perfect person, right? Like, you have this teacher language and understanding that not everybody has. And I think that's one thing that I find with teachers and I definitely was the same way that sometimes we think about our skills as being something that we take for granted.

Lily

And that there are people out there just like you, you interacted with the sales reps being like, what is SEL you know, and that skill that you have, just knowing that and having been in a classroom is something that other people need, and I think that sometimes it's hard to even just see your skills that way.

Casey

And I, you know, it's, it's something that it's not going to go away, you know, all of those things are already there important guiding principles, generally, but also overtly, in Money Streams, like Title Four money, like, it's all there, it's, and it always has been.

Casey

It's just that the past, you know, two, three years have really highlighted what is important, that we know is closer to we're already kind of doing maybe not in that same language, but in the same vein, and now, companies are adept to that. And now we're, you know, we're we're seeing some alignment there in terms of what is important, how our product helps address these things, our classroom, teachers and school leaders knew it was important, but now they have some different choices to, to select from.

Casey

So it's gonna be interesting, 24 months moving forward when all of the monies from the pandemic go away next year, which was a great shot in the arm for schools to ramp up, but what's going to happen when it goes away?

Lily

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Well, I appreciate you also sharing about kind of that things were hard for you to learn at the beginning, which I think is true for everyone. You know, like, I definitely when I moved from the classroom to the world, Ed Tech was like, I don't understand half of these words that people are using, I have no idea how to use these, like different computer programs, like all these things felt simultaneously exciting, but also really overwhelming.

Lily

But I think this important part, which is like true for kids, and true for grownups is that we learned from doing it. And that you have to kind of go through this process of things that feel interesting to you and learn as you go through it. And I appreciate you sharing on what you've learned professionally. And I would love to hear if there's anything that you've learned just personally through the process of transitioning out of the classroom.

Casey

It's the value proposition, I say that in the meaning of like priorities and importance personally. So that was something that I really learned, like, I never knew how much I value time that I was the one being able to dictate the when and where. I was even the one being able to dictate the how much when I was going to work? Where's it going to be? How much sweat equity I'm going to put into this? Or is this an easy?

Casey

And then of course, the ability to say no. So it all rested around time. And I think it was just myself getting out of my 30s heading into my 40s and saying, hey, you know, my kids are important. What can I do to create a work environment that lends itself to me, coaching baseball, or sitting with my daughter to practice her piano.

Casey

And that that was a big driver, after the fact almost like I settled into it. And as I was thinking about why or will I continue this work, or maybe like, wait a second, like taking a step back just there's other people that are enjoying the fruits of unique labor, in terms of moving from the classroom into consulting corporate, and they've benefited.

Casey

And so that's something that it wasn't part of the journey and the map per se like this is what's going to happen at this time. It kind of happened, but there was a realization that like, wow, whether it was happenstance or not, I mean, it was just glad that I was able to pivot into the role as education consultant at that time.

Lily

Yes, that's awesome. I know that flexibility is so key. I also left the classroom when my daughter was born. And now two kids you know that our school really shouldn't and I just feel so thankful that I can pick them up at school most days and be around if they're sick.

Lily

And it's not like a major disaster or, you know, finding a sub and doing all the things, you know, having that flexibility for sure. So what about for people who want to move into the world of flexible work in education or working in edtech? Do you have any advice for them?

Casey

Don't be scared. I think it goes back to a little bit about all what we just talked about, of what's important. Are you doing it, you know, what's important to you, your family, your life? Or like, what's important? And how are these professional endeavors going to enhance that?

Casey

And, you know, the grass isn't always greener as well. I mean, because, you know, like, we talked about, you know, there's, there's, there's a learning curve too have, you're making a dive. So we're, you know, there's, there's great opportunity, but be mindful as well.

Casey

You know, you scour LinkedIn or indeed, and then there's roles for folks in in sales or whatnot, saying, hey, you know, we're really looking for classroom teachers, or former teachers who have this background, this deadness to education and classrooms in an elementary and middle and high school, all this, and you're really going to help us in this and and, and that's, that's the shiny object, right?

Casey

That's like, wow, they're really looking for teachers, I'm going to go and apply. It's the yes ad right, yes, awesome. And don't forget that there's some learning involved, you are dealing with quotas, as you're moving into sales, you're doing all of these other pieces that are going to be challenging. I think just being taking your time.

Casey

Having that I guess that compass, though, like where you want to be thinking about how you're going to get there. Opportunities are out there, there's no need to like, hunt and gather for those. It's readily available. It's just making sure that whatever you do is aligned with the work that you've done, how you want to live your life. And then once all of that is done, then you just say, All right, let's go.

Lily

Yes, I love that. Because I think it's sometimes it's just not black and white. Right? Like, it's about exactly what you're saying. It's about learning what you've done, what you've learned through your past experience, and what your skills and interests are. It's about thinking about, like you said, you know, what do you want in your actual life? You know, do you want flexibility? Do you wanna be able to travel, be home for your kids, like, whatever it is?

Lily

And then of course, like a money piece, too, right? It's just like, How much money do you need to make? And then also the impact that you want to make. And do you feel aligned with this companies or this organization's values that you want to work with? And then when you have those, or at least some part of those, I feel like it's easier to go through that bumpy part of it.

Lily

You know, where you're like, Yeah, you're not going to know everything, it's not going to be like you just walk in and know exactly what to do. And that's kind of what's great about it. Like, I felt like with teaching, it was often Groundhog's Day being like, all right, I mean, it's always hard. But you know, after doing it for a while, it was like, Alright, I've, I've taught this same lesson over and over, like, I know what kids are gonna say, you know, I know what they and misunderstandings are gonna be.

Lily

So moving into a whole new world of things is both exciting and can be overwhelming. And so I think just like writing it out, and knowing that's all part of the process. Yeah, agreed. Awesome. Well, Casey it's been so great talking with you, can you share where folks can connect with you or learn more about you?

Casey

Definitely find me on LinkedIn, that's a really great place to start. And educators if you're not already on there, don't have your professional profile setup or whatnot, do it. It's a must have not only for yourself in the classroom, and connecting with folks professionally, but if at some point you're ready to pivot to something else, you already have that ready to go.

Casey

And you've seen profiles like mine, that can highlight the classroom piece as well as these pieces. So definitely a LinkedIn is the first place to go to connect with me.

Lily

Awesome. Well, thanks again, Casey. It was so nice talking with you.

Casey

All right, nice talking with you. Thanks, everyone.