Reversing Course During a Pandemic

A superintendent’s candid retelling about listening to his community amidst the tense moments of a school shutdown decision

Last October, as COVID-19 was wreaking havoc on K-12 education, district and school leaders were forced every day to make decisions and choose directions that had far-reaching and often unexpected ramifications.

That so many stakeholders were affected by these actions upped the ante amidst the uncertainty. There was no playbook, no crystal ball, no precedent. As Charles R. Swindoll, a widely quoted pastor, has suggested in one of his sermons: “Life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we react to it.” No easy task on any level.

As school district leaders, we always hope to get it right, and more than likely, most of us do. But what happens when that’s not the case, when community pushback forces our hand and calls us out? Do we hunker down and hold our ground, or do we adjust, pivot and move forward?