Reestablishing Norms at the End of a Dark Tunnel

Board-Savvy Superintendent

When the pandemic first appeared, it caused a major shift in leadership in many school districts. While I have spent a career teaching boards of education to think strategically, COVID-19 caused school districts to be focused tactically.

Our message to board members during the early stages was often to get out of the way and let superintendents do what they needed to do and to provide the resources needed to overcome the obstacles that popped up every day. Long-term strategic thinking had to go by the wayside in many districts, as directives from federal, state and local leadership took hold, sometimes arising daily or weekly.

As we see the effects of the pandemic slowly wind down (at least in one optimistic view), it gives us pause to think about what comes next. We often talk about returning to “normal” as a goal, but is that ever going to happen?