Cain, Laura

Name:

Laura
Cain

Department:

Administration

Title:

Principal

Email:

Mrs. Cain is an Oklahoma city native and product of Catholic schools. She attended Sacred Heart OKC for elementary and middle school, and graduated from Mount St. Mary Catholic High School in 1989. She has a deep-rooted love for Mount St. Mary and her greatest treasures, daughters Claire, Kayla and Katherine, are also proud Mount graduates.

Mrs. Cain was inspired to become an educator while attending Mount St. Mary and being taught by extraordinary Catholic teachers, both lay teachers and Sisters of Mercy. She received her bachelors and masters degree in education from the University of Oklahoma and will complete a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership from Saint Louis University in May 2024.

Mrs. Cain has spent 30 years in education, with 16 years in school leadership. Her teaching career began at Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School, a private, college preparatory school in Joplin, Missouri. After her first year there, she was asked by the Head of School to serve as the school’s first Division Head, where she served for five years.

After the birth of her twin girls, she and her family moved back to Oklahoma in 2000 to be closer to their family. She taught at Oak Hall Episcopal School for the next 6 years. She was named Head of School in 2006 and served in that until 2012. At that time, Mrs. Cain and her family moved from Ardmore back “home” to Oklahoma City in order for their daughters to attend Mount St. Mary Catholic High School. While at Oak Hall, she led the school through two accreditation cycles, extended the school’s grade levels to include middle school and a two-year-old class, stabilized the school’s financial position, authored numerous successful grant applications, managed multiple physical plant building projects and campus facility improvements and created several innovative instructional and community-building programs that remain in place today.

She returned to the classroom from 2012-2014 in Norman Public Schools until receiving a call from Fr. Ray Ackerman inviting her to serve as Principal of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School in Edmond. During her tenure at St. Elizabeth’s, the school experienced a significant increase in enrollment. Mrs. Cain was instrumental in stabilizing the school’s financial standing, starting the school’s gifted education program, founding an after-school enrichment program and increasing parent participation. She developed a school-wide program highlighting Catholic social teachings and social justice, led a partnership integration program with Good Shepherd Catholic School serving students with autism, developed a guidance counseling program and founded the school’s first 3-year-old program.

After serving at St. Elizabeth’s for 8 years, Mrs. Cain was named Principal at Mount St. Mary Catholic High School in July 2022, leading the Mount through a critical, but challenging time in the school’s history. As Principal, she is passionate about aligning programs and practices with the mission of the school, continuing the tradition of excellence, helping students and staff grow in their faith life and maintaining the charism and mission of the Sisters of Mercy and the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.

In addition to being a lifelong educator, Laura has served her community in numerous ways. She was a member of the Steering Team for the Director of Catholic Education leadership transition and currently serves on the Archdiocesan Review Board. She has served as a principal cohort leader in the archdiocese to norm the current teacher evaluation tool, has served on numerous visiting accreditation teams for the Oklahoma Conference of Catholic Schools Accrediting Association, the Southwest Association of Episcopal Schools and the Independent School Association of the Central States. She has been a presenter at several education and school leadership conferences, served as President of CASA of Southern Oklahoma, served on the Association Board for Goddard Art Center, was a member of Leadership Ardmore Class XVII and was appointed by Governor Brad Henry to a six-year term on the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission from 20023-2009.

Laura and her husband Marion share six wonderful children and make their home in Edmond, where Marion has served 25 years in the Edmond Police Department.