As the school year wanes, I hope each of you are making plans to get away this summer and recuperate from what has likely been the most challenging year ever faced by school district leaders. It is my further hope that you will not only plan to relax while away, but also carve out some time for thought and reflection. Once you do, I trust that time might be used in the following manner…
Think about lessons learned from this year. Consider how your life and the lives of those you lead and interact with has been changed. Based upon this information what do you see as next steps for your school system? To figure this out I encourage you to engage in the following simple activities.
First, consider and record in writing the lessons learned over this past year, both good and bad. I believe this is important because in any situation we adapt to the realities of the condition we face and there are always practices and activities that we can adopt moving forward.
Next, it would be instructive to apply the Windowpane Model in considering how your life, the lives of those you lead (think administrators, staff…etc.), and those you interact with (think board members, parents…etc.) have changed. Similarly, it is important to consider how different groups believe the school system has changed or should change. Is it that there is a greater desire for more counselors in your schools, or establishing a permanent opportunity for certain students to learn online, or will bus drivers want to have buses disinfected daily, or will board members desire ongoing use of Zoom to conduct certain meetings? Clearly this exercise is context specific and one that only you (or your team) can complete.
By the way, if you are not already familiar with the Windowpane Model it is a tool I have outlined in my books, but the concept is straightforward. On a notepad, piece of chart paper, or a white board draw a square and divide that square into a set of smaller squares so that the completed picture resembles a window with multiple panes. In each pane of the window identify a group, such as teachers, bus drivers, parents, administrators, board members…etc., and then think through and record how their lives and jobs have changed as a function of the pandemic. The activity provides a way for you (or your team) to systemically think through the impact of the pandemic on key groups within your school system so that you are prepared to consider next steps.
Ok, the final part of the process is to use the product of the lessons learned and windowpane activity to inform your next steps. In other words, based upon this information how do you approach the coming year? What might you want to carry forward from this previous year or two on a permanent basis? How have those you work and interact with changed? To what extent do these changes impact how your school system moves forward?
Of course, there are many other questions to be considered, but I hope these activities get you started thinking about the impact of the pandemic at a systems level and encourages you to glean that which can make a difference in the future.
If you have other thoughts or ideas for how to think through and better understand how the pandemic will impact your school system moving forward, please place those ideas in the comments section below. Please remember that we all gain and benefit when we share our thoughts and ideas with each other.
There has been much learned…new ways of reaching students, new ways of empowering parents and guardians, new approaches learned by teachers, the value of using Zoom in creative ways to engage families with no need for child care and transportation to the school in the evenings, etc. I noted that IEP meetings were often much more productive via technology…parents seemed more relaxed and less “outnumbered” at a very large table of professionals in-person.
What a year!
Thanks for sharing, Nancy! It has been a year, but reading of the new ways of operating that are making a difference in your district is exciting. I can see how parents might request IEP meetings online in the future. As you state it is easier for them to attend and less intimidating.