Though Juban Parc Elementary School is one of the highest performers in its district, educators there are now helping dozens of new students who are struggling with basic concepts after the disruptions of remote learning.
Recent headlines suggest that school districts across the country are having shared experiences, or what we like to call mid-semester headaches. Here's what leaders are responding to.
Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools' newly hired superintendent, Denise Watts, shares with District Administration her 100-day plan, which includes her "Community Conversations" initiative that she believes is important in becoming the "lead learner" for her community.
Principal Nikol Youngberg says establishing a welcoming and nurturing climate for students is not a cliche—it's her "why" for being an educator and for leading Flour Bluff Primary & Elementary Schools in Texas.
Being named a National Distinguished Principal reinforces Angie Krause's commitment to upholding high leadership standards and inspiring the teachers and students at Kansas' Community Elementary School.
"I try to be ever-present," is how Superintendent Brian Nichols describes his effort to stay connected and engaged with his students, staff and community at New Kent County Public Schools in Virginia. "When kids see me, they call me by name—I have 3,500 kids and I'm getting to where I can call them by name."
“A shutdown is ineffective and costly, the consequences of which play out on Main Street, not Capitol Hill, as workers go without pay, families go without childcare, poor families lose support for housing and food, and schools feel the squeeze," says David R. Schuler, executive director of AASA, The School Superintendents Association.
Superintendent John B. Gordon III leads Suffolk Public Schools in telling a positive story about students and staff in the face of political antagonism and racism, deploying social media—Facebook and Instagram, in particular—to keep the community informed and engaged in Suffolk Public Schools' achievements and activities.
Educators must adopt an approach that frees students to try, fail and learn from that failure, tweak what they're doing and try again. This will empower students to learn and relearn for the rest of their lives.
With every decision feeling more divisive, technology evolving at hyperspeed, and the needs of school communities getting greater, leaders today have to adapt, innovate, and communicate in fundamentally different ways.
