An Impossible Position

Our students missed a lot of learning time, and our community experienced significant stress. Our priorities this year are equity, engagement and deep learning. Specifically, our focus is on building relationships, building student agency and making learning joyful. Because the past year made it difficult for students to interact, we’re really looking forward to fostering classroom environments with a lot of student discourse and collaboration.

Thomas Flanagan, superintendent, Burlington, Vt.

Keeping the conversation and focus centered on students and their needs. Too often the needs of adults dominate the conversation and in education, we need to do a better job of constantly focusing on what is the best and right thing to do for our kids. Because the pandemic has reminded us that we can’t do this work alone, we’re going to engage the full village community in support of students.

Gudiel Crosthwaite, superintendent, Lynwood, Calif.

Making sure that our aging facilities can handle any and all social distancing guidelines, as well as parent and staff concerns about the maintenance and cleanliness of most of our school buildings that were constructed before 1940. We’re also concerned about families who may not want to return and about a potential shortage of teachers and substitutes.

Brenda Casselius, superintendent, Boston, Mass.

Identifying strategies to meet the diverse academic and social-emotional needs of students that have not been in a school building in over a year. While this challenge mirrors one that would exist at the opening of any new school year, it is more pronounced this fall. Additionally, I think that going back to our traditional bell schedules (e.g., 7:20 a.m. start for high school) and the intensity of the in-person model of school is leading to challenges of staff and student stamina.

Damien Pattenaude, superintendent, Renton, Wash.

Superintendent preparation programs must introduce new thinking about inclusive instructional design, organizational learning and power distribution. But the most urgent change would require a renewed focus on the political part of the job — media relations, union relations, school board relations, community relations and cross-sector coalition building.

Jennifer Cheatham, professor, Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and former superintendent, Madison, Wis.

Through the pandemic, we’ve learned superintendents now must be community leaders who engage stakeholders that include families, school board members, school district employees, union representatives and community organizations to collaboratively address challenges and work toward solutions. Specific learning on team building and how to distribute leadership across organizations to develop and implement community-wide solutions will help superintendents to con-front future challenges.

Rebecca Thessin, associate professor of education, George Washington University, and former administrator, Montgomery County, Md., Public Schools

The pandemic truly showed to the world the centrality of schools to our economy and how school buildings themselves were the entry point for so many social services — academics, meals, child care, social-emotional support and more — for children who need them most. We need to be bolder in policymaking. That means transforming the school calendar, implementing culturally relevant curricula and using this moment of crisis to engender change that closes longstanding inequities.

Julia Rafal-Baer, chief operating officer, Chiefs for Change

The students and families served by a district should have a meaningful decision-making seat at the table as superintendents make decisions. On a related note, it is important to understand historicities evoked during events like a pandemic that impact the way a given community defines and articulates needs. That is to say, it is necessary to develop deep understandings of a context a superintendent is serving — beyond basic demographics or histories.

Anthony Craig, professor of practice, University of Washington College of Education

The pandemic has provided an alert to the need to begin anticipating crises so severe that schools are closed and superintendents could be driven from their offices, while some politicians evade responsibility. Superintendents will need to lead amidst these crises, as many did this past year. For their part, schools of education will need to offer future district leaders concrete professional development around crisis management.

James Harvey, executive director, National Superintendents Roundtable