Counseling New Leaders for the Unseen and Uncertain

“COVID has changed everything!”

That was the first comment from a superintendent — I’m calling him Paul to keep his identity anonymous — with whom I’ve been working this year as a mentor. Paul was in his first month of his first superintendency, leading a small suburban district not far outside New York City.

Paul previously had worked in two high school principalships with student populations of 650 and 2,800 students. He had received his Ed.D. in educational leadership four years ago.

His first day in his new job back on July 1 started with an 8 a.m. school board meeting and ended at 8 p.m. with the conclusion of a “drive-by commencement” for the graduating seniors that had been postponed from its original date in June.