What have been called the “dual pandemics” of COVID-19 and racism have shifted everything—from how and where learning takes place, to what is taught and why. School leaders have spent endless hours over multiple months to plan for the school year, amidst an ever-changing landscape of uncertainty and difficult judgment calls, without respite.
We have also been given new opportunities and changes for the better. Many Black students and alumni have taken to social media to paint a painful picture of their experiences—what the late John Lewis called “good trouble, necessary trouble”—and many schools are awakening to and sincerely addressing a deep hurt in their communities. Alongside Zoom-exhaustion has emerged new connections and ways of being with one another. And many of us had noticed bluer skies, more birdsong, and quieter streets as nature was granted a reprieve from human activity to take center stage.
Thanks to online tools, and our collective learning curve (although will we ever remember to unmute?), here at NAES we were able to connect to more members than ever—to hear their stories and concerns, connect them to one another, alleviate isolation, and crowdsource solutions.
Here are some takeaways from those conversations that may help all of us to do our very best for our schools as the 2020-2021 year begins.
Adults need as much care and attention as students, perhaps more.
Research shows that students learn best when faculty culture is strong and morale is high. But this has been deeply stressed in recent months. Chaplains, preschool directors, and diversity practitioners repeatedly commented on the personal and professional stressors on faculty and parents prompted by COVID-19 itself, living in uncertainty, and the ongoing effects of racism.
Over the summer, anxieties have only risen as teachers try to plan for multiple scenarios, wonder about their schedule, prepare to teach in in hybrid, online and/or in-person settings with masks and distancing, and respond meaningfully to black@ and Black Lives Matter in their schools and wider communities—all amidst loud public conversations about how schools should or shouldn’t open. Parents, too, have high levels of anxiety and concern about whether they, their elected officials, and their schools are making the right decisions for their children.
We all know the safety drill on airplanes: in case of emergency, put on your own oxygen mask first, then take care of the children traveling with you. A theme we heard over and over again this spring was the need for faculty, staff, and parents to have support and spaces where they can connect and share their concerns, experiences, and ideas, so that they can do their very best for children. The wellness program for 2020-2021 likely needs a lot of attention given to the grown-ups.
Resist silos. Tap the wisdom and skill of your chaplains and diversity practitioners.
School administrators’ time has been consumed by practical considerations relating to scenarios for schedules, facilities, staffing, finances, and health and safety. However, this focus on simply functioning as a school can end up sidelining programs that are normally central to our schools’ missions and communal life, such as chapel and the chaplain, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the work of chaplains and diversity practitioners are not ancillary to the “real work” of school; they are central to it. Both chaplains and diversity practitioners have important insights into the lived experiences of students, faculty & staff, and families. They bring particular skills that can strengthen the school community, keep it focused on principles, and lend support to the daunting goal of sustaining connection and belonging in a time of physical distance and psychic stress.
There has been no down time. Take self-care seriously.
We have watched individuals at all levels of our Episcopal schools work on overdrive—trustees, heads, administrators, faculty and staff. We have heard fatigue in your voices and you have shared worries that folks will return already weary. Not one of us can change this reality, but we can acknowledge it and, to the best of our ability, lead by example and respond with compassion. One Zoom participant shared that she had decided not to immediately respond to a non-emergency text received at 9:30 pm and instead respond the next day. Others speak of ways to manage their electronic boundaries, take time for getting outside, cooking, prayer, or simply laying down their work. Self-care is an important topic for faculty and staff conversations at opening meetings, and school leaders can work with the faculty to consider ways to sustain the adults through these times.
Anxiety is everywhere—use our Episcopal toolbox to stay grounded and hopeful.
As Episcopal schools, we have access to sacred texts, spiritual practices, and a theology of hope and love; tools we can use amply in the months ahead. Our chaplains have talked about working with their school’s wellness and mental health team to monitor and attend to students, families, and colleagues. Prayer lists, meditation circles, compline, blessings and thanksgivings, and trusting that even when we cannot know or predict the future, we can ground ourselves in hope and a belief that we can and will continue to have joy in our lives. Our students in particular need to know that it’s OK to be OK, to feel loved and beloved, to create, move, and live in this world, however changed it may be, with joy and purpose. Episcopal schools are also serving communities, and that has not changed. Tapping into our core values and practices as Episcopal schools only strengthens us.
Combat isolation. Stay involved and lean on colleagues.
It can sometimes seem like one more online meeting is to be feared, but we have found that not all Zoom meetings are equally daunting. The demands on leaders and teachers are profound, and yet to isolate ourselves in our own office, home, or school community deprives us of the revitalizing and sustaining energy we can find when we connect outside of our own small world. People remain eager to come together for mutual support, to learn from others in similar situations, and to know that they are not alone. Whether it’s NAES, a local or regional network of colleagues, a congregation or community group, meaningful time in meaningful conversation with others outside of our own institution is time well spent.
In his classic book The Human Side of School Change, the great independent school thinker Rob Evans notes that although the public face of change is invariably positive—we can do this! – the private face tends to be characterized by feelings such as grief over what we have lost, incompetence as we are forced to learn new skills, confusion about how the new world will work, and a reopening of old wounds and rivalries (The upper school always gets the attention! The arts are always last!). I suspect all of us in schools have heard these same concerns during these dual pandemics. It is important to name these feelings which, according to Evans, are natural and unavoidable. We cannot move into and through the changes ahead without such feelings, but neither can we be paralyzed by them. We can, however, recognize and honor them even as we move into our new school year.
Most of all, know that we are part of a larger whole, a community of remarkable schools filled with committed leaders, teachers, staff members, students, and their families. NAES is here with you, to journey the road ahead together so that all of our schools can continue to be places that make a difference.