Last Thursday, March 16, the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce met for a Connection Breakfast at the Fountain Hills Unified School District (FHUSD) Learning Center. FHUSD Superintendent Dr. Cain Jagodzinski spoke about his personal leadership philosophy and updated those in attendance on current school initiatives.

Jagodzinski is only in his first year as Superintendent, but he’s been in Fountain Hills for nearly 20 years. His three kids attend Fountain Hills schools, and his two oldest kids are multi-sport athletes at the high school.

Jagodzinski was the first basketball coach to lead Fountain Hills to a state championship. He utilizes many of the same concepts in leading the district as he did coaching, such as a commitment to growth and continuous improvement.

His theme for the year was “high expectations,” and Jagodzinski said he has tried to get all FHUSD staff and students to be 1% better each day. Jagodzinski has wanted to put the pandemic in the rear view mirror all year and get back to pre-COVID traditions of excellence in town.

Fountain Hills High School (FHHS) was named to the U.S. News Best National High School list each year from 2019-2022. Those rewards are two years behind, so it’s really the classes from 2017-2020 that earned the recognition. FHHS also received “A” letter grades from the Arizona Department of Education in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

FHHS and McDowell Mountain Elementary School (MMES) are both currently rated A+ by the Department of Education. FHUSD schools have had these accolades before, but it didn’t stop enrollment from decreasing for several years.

As Jagodzinski said, if it took just one thing to fix declining enrollment, FHUSD would’ve done it already. He has tried to address several areas of concern in his first year, and enrollment is up for the first time in a long time. Currently, FHUSD has 86 more students than it did last year.

Jagodzinski believes the little things make all the difference. John Wooden, the Hall of Fame basketball coach, was an inspiration to Jagodzinski, and he met Wooden when he was 95 years old. Jagodzinski shared a quote from Wooden about how he used to teach his college players to put socks and shoes on, because one wrinkle could lead to blisters and ruin their season.

Jagodzinski is not teaching his staff how to tie their shoes, but he is determined to address every issue, big or small. He told the Chamber of Commerce members about his open door policy, and how he is willing to speak with community members, regardless of if they have a child in the school system or not.

Jagodzinski wants FHUSD to be a centerpiece of Fountain Hills. He’s already met with over 30 local realtors, and he gave them his cell phone number so prospective buyers can call him if they have questions about the local schools. He’s willing to speak at any time, and he’ll meet people on weekends if needed.

Jagodzinski said he believes FHUSD excels at caring for students, and he is excited to give them the latest and greatest available with a move to consolidate schools. Classrooms and learning spaces will be renovated using savings to deliver a 21st century learning experience to Fountain Hills children.

Jagodzinski explained the move to consolidate as an investment in advertising. He hopes that the parents and students will enjoy the new spaces so much, they will share their experiences and draw more students to FHUSD.

There have been a lot of positive developments since Jagodzinski returned to FHUSD. There will be a new field for next year’s football and soccer teams, and the staff had its first ever group picnic on Friday, March 10, where staff bonds were strengthened. Jagodzinski also brings his French Bulldog, Frank, to campuses each Friday to put smiles on kids’ faces.

Jagodzinski said he will keep hard at work to improve and maintain excellence in FHUSD. State standardized testing will begin near the end of March, and Jagodzinski has been approved to issue staff contract renewals so he can work to keep quality FHUSD staff in Fountain Hills for next year.