A crisis of leadership threatens to overwhelm the nation鈥檚 schools as they struggle to start a new year during a pandemic. And it鈥檚 unclear exactly who can and will fill the vacuum.
Before the pandemic, politicians and power players took for granted the traditional routine of opening bell and homeroom period that鈥攅ducational mission aside鈥攁ssured that adults could head off to work.
With that routine broken, the educators directly responsible for the upcoming school year鈥攃hief among them tens of thousands of local superintendents and principals鈥攏ow mostly hear a discordant chorus instead of clear direction. There are those in positions of authority and influence who want school buildings open immediately, but they offer conflicting plans for how to restart. Sometimes the clamor of voices alternates between demands and indifference.
It only takes Greene County, N.C., schools Superintendent Patrick Miller a few seconds of discussing his job to say he鈥檚 on the 鈥渂rink of insanity鈥� as he readies for the new school year.
鈥淭he two terms I鈥檓 sick of are, 鈥榰nprecedented鈥� being one and 鈥榝luid鈥� being the other. But I can鈥檛 think of better terms to describe it,鈥� Miller said. He added that despite his appreciation for crucial support he鈥檚 gotten from the state, there鈥檚 a lot of 鈥減olitical noise鈥� around his work and that sometimes, 鈥淚鈥檓 in a fog. I鈥檒l wake up in the middle of the night.鈥�
The bewilderment and backlash at the local level has been intense and public. Some have focused on what they deem a lack of 鈥渆mpathy & grace,鈥� as Richmond, Va., Superintendent Jason Kamras put it in a July 14 social media and its pressure for immediate brick-and-mortar reopening.
Others have decried what they see as a lack of clear direction, or a growing and entangled mass of guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on down.
The trajectory of national education politics has affected the environment, too. Years of distrust if not open hostility between U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and many education leaders had already drained away goodwill DeVos might have drawn on during a crisis. That wariness has grown due to a few factors, including DeVos鈥� dictates that schools should reopen or put their full federal funding at risk if they don鈥檛.
DeVos has encouraged educators to reach out to the department without addressing in detail how she鈥檚 made a consistent effort to reach out to educators, and cited one district and one charter school network she says can be role models. And the administration has highlighted money already made available by Congress, which, DeVos has pointedly observed, schools haven鈥檛 spent much of.
But mostly, DeVos has stressed that it鈥檚 educators鈥� job to reopen schools safely and not rounded the sharp edges off her demands that are in virtual lock step with that 鈥淪CHOOLS MUST OPEN.鈥�
鈥淭here has to be a posture of doing something, of action, of getting things going,鈥� on July 12. Implicit in that comment was that educators have not demonstrated enough urgency. And her department stepped up the pressure earlier this week by declaring on Twitter: 鈥淚t is safe for schools to reopen.鈥�
Watching DeVos鈥� remarks about schools losing federal aid, Liz Garden, an elementary school principal in Holden, Mass., wondered incredulously, 鈥淚s this reverse psychology?鈥�
鈥淭he damage being done by just that one bullying statement鈥攊f you鈥檙e not going to get kids back in school, we鈥檙e not going to give you money鈥攏ow we鈥檙e being threatened?鈥� Garden said. 鈥淚t would be great to have some more guidance and some more understanding.鈥�
Angela L. Morabito, an Education Department spokeswoman, said DeVos 鈥渞egularly communicates with and continues to speak with governors and other education leaders about ways schools can deliver a full-time education to students in the fall,鈥� citing more than 50 calls with state superintendents and commissioners by early June.
As for guidance, Morabito said, 鈥渢he administration is committed to a locally-driven, federally-supported approach to helping schools and local districts reopen safely in the fall.鈥� And she insisted that DeVos 鈥渉as great working relationships with many state and local leaders, and education leaders from across the country.鈥�
But DeVos isn鈥檛 the only target for unease over leadership. Disputes between state leaders are destabilizing the situation too. And a growing number of districts have decided to start the year with remote-only instruction. That鈥檚 precisely what educators and officials say they鈥檇 prefer not to happen.
鈥淲e get different messages from different times from those state and federal agencies. And we鈥檙e expected to open schools in five weeks. The CDC says this, then the state interprets it one way, then another way,鈥� said Michael Hinojosa, the superintendent of the Dallas district. 鈥淣ow some of the things we thought we could pull off are no longer feasible.鈥�
School leaders want to be able to tell the public that they must stick to clear requirements and guardrails about things like face masks, social distancing, and what to do if a child seems ill, and that the health and safety of the community depends on adhering to them. Josh Starr, a former superintendent who is the CEO of PDK International, a professional educators鈥� group, put his view bluntly: School officials are looking for political cover so they can do key parts of their jobs, and states need to step up because DeVos isn鈥檛.
鈥淧eople are desperate for leadership. And part of it is, educators are exhausted,鈥� Starr said.
鈥楢void Unnecessary Confusion鈥�
In 澳门跑狗论坛 survey results from the early period of the pandemic, 54 percent of teachers鈥� opinions of their governors rose by 鈥渁 lot鈥� or 鈥渟omewhat鈥� as a result of how they handled the virus. Yet these teachers also said they knew that harder times were to come. They were right.
The disagreements and lack of cohesive leadership don鈥檛 just cross state, local, and federal boundaries, but can affect work within those levels of government.
In a to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson, a Republican, wrote that he was 鈥渃oncerned about inconsistent health guidelines鈥� from the state health department about reopening schools.
Touching on concerns he had about how schools would deal with face coverings and social distancing on buses, and stating that his omission from previous discussions 鈥渉as resulted in a confusing and inconsistent policy,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淚 am writing with the hope that the science supporting new guidelines might be explained and to present a possible resolution to avoid unnecessary confusion at the local level.鈥�
Despite that squabbling, Miller of the Greene County district said the state chief has provided helpful and constantly updated resources to help schools prepare, and that state leaders have clearly been working hard to address his concerns.
But he鈥檚 hopeful for more emergency aid. And when the governor announced that the state would pay for five masks for each student and staff member, he appreciated it but also regretted the timing. 鈥淚 wish I had known that earlier, because I had already ordered masks ... I could have used that $17,000 that I spent for something else,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淚 never realized how much hand sanitizer cost until I had to buy 500 cases.鈥�
Despite his best efforts, after 13 years as the superintendent, Miller said he鈥檚 fearful that if his district鈥檚 budget isn鈥檛 in the black at the end of the year, 鈥淚鈥檒l potentially lose my job. That鈥檚 just something that I just have to wrestle with. And I鈥檓 not alone.鈥�
Other examples of such division aren鈥檛 hard to find; in fact, there鈥檚 one next door. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, held a press conference July 15 demanding that schools reopen five days a week for face-to-face classes. But state Superintendent Molly Spearman, a fellow elected Republican, did not join him at the event and later said she disagreed with McMaster. Montana鈥檚 governor and superintendent have also .
When Susan Enfield, the superintendent of the Highline district in Washington state, looks at what she鈥檚 gotten from the constellation of leadership above her, she feels a mixture of appreciation and vexation. (Enfield is a member of the board for 澳门跑狗论坛, the nonprofit entity that publishes 澳门跑狗论坛.)
She appreciates the weekly calls from state Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal with district leaders and his quick action to do things like cancelling the state assessment in the spring. And she acknowledges that he and other officials are operating in a 鈥渜uicksand landscape鈥� of constantly changing information.
Yet Enfield also wishes Reykdal would get districts and teachers鈥� unions to agree to some 鈥渉igh-level鈥� stipulations about the nature of instruction and other matters, instead of fragmented local negotiating. And she criticized what she鈥檚 seen as a lack of coordination between the state health and education departments about certain rules.
鈥淵ou have multiple agencies trying to communicate things that impact schools. It鈥檚 just another example of trying to do the best we can and having the rug pulled out from under us,鈥� Enfield said.
In response to Enfield, the state education department spokeswoman, Katy Payne, said that while the state鈥檚 guidance 鈥済ives districts significant flexibility鈥� to design various learning models next year, 鈥淭here is no legal mechanism in the state of Washington for statewide bargaining for educators or even 鈥榟igh-level鈥� agreements鈥� to bind local officials.
鈥淥ur guidance for school districts about reopening in the fall was shaped by enormous amounts of feedback from management and labor, but not through formal agreements,鈥� Payne wrote.
Enfield doesn鈥檛 have black-and-white views about DeVos.
Many of Enfield鈥檚 peers 鈥渄o not believe that she is an advocate for public education鈥� and doesn鈥檛 have the relevant experience working in schools to provide motivation and understanding in the pandemic. But Enfield also questions what help DeVos is getting from White House officials, and says a lack of cohesion or planning at that level trickles down to officials Enfield deals with directly.
鈥淲e would appreciate clearer guidance. We would appreciate, in some cases, some directives and mandates,鈥� she said.
Every Child, Every School, One Calendar
Sitting between federal and local education leaders, Rhode Island Commissioner of Education Ang茅lica Infante-Green said she鈥檚 taken a 鈥渨hole-state approach鈥� to planning for the upcoming year.
One of the state鈥檚 key decisions was to ensure that everyone has been put on the same school calendar. That took close coordination with Infante-Green and her office, state health officials, teachers鈥� unions, local private schools, and Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo. If schools must shut down again, there won鈥檛 be a fragmented or confused response from local leaders.
鈥淚t directly impacts everyone,鈥� Infante-Green said of the pandemic. 鈥淚n education we鈥檙e used to being siloed. This has taught us the hard way to partner with private schools in a way that we鈥檝e never done before.鈥�
Infante-Green said she鈥檚 had a couple of calls with DeVos鈥� team about school reopenings, and that more of those discussions would be helpful. She also participates in a weekly call with other state education commissioners organized by the Council of Chief State School Officers, as well as separate, regular meetings with state K-12 leaders in the Northeastern states. But she says she hears from colleagues elsewhere who are 鈥減lanning all this on their own in a vacuum. I have information they don鈥檛 have.鈥�
鈥淩ight now, we can鈥檛 go by the same rules we had in the past,鈥� Infante-Green added. 鈥淲e need a little more flexibility, we need a little more guidance. But I don鈥檛 think that threats help us at this moment.鈥�
Yet the state鈥檚 work hasn鈥檛 been immune from criticism. District leaders said they were by Rhode Island鈥檚 plan to reopen schools with in-person attendance on Aug. 31, the Providence Journal reported. Infante-Green, whose agency released in mid-June, said such confusion about reopening has since been cleared up.
Peer Support and Money
Anxiety is palpable at the local level. A survey conducted by the National Association of Secondary School Principals that was released July 8 found that just one out of three principals believe they could ensure the health of students and staff if schools reopen in the fall. In responding to that survey, one principal said his 鈥渇ear is that the public will be looking at each measure as a political statement.鈥�
That鈥檚 a sentiment district leaders must take into account, Starr of PDK International said.
In some states or in areas where local school boards are deeply split, he said, 鈥渢here鈥檚 a real challenge there for a superintendent to try to make decisions about trying to get kids back in schools and keep them safe, given the politics of it.鈥�
Echoing Infante-Green, Hinojosa of the Dallas district said he鈥檚 found some of the most helpful information from his fellow big-city superintendents, in part through regular calls that the Council of the Great City Schools has helped arrange.
鈥淲e鈥檙e more alike than anybody else that I deal with,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 made us more efficient.鈥�
Part of his strategy, Hinojosa said, is to do media interviews whenever he can, even if it annoys his board members. But not everyone is so inclined. In response to a request for an interview with St. Paul, Minn., schools Superintendent Joe Gothard, a spokesman for the district noted that state guidelines for school reopenings aren鈥檛 due until the week of July 27 and added, 鈥淯ntil that time it would be premature for Dr. Gothard to discuss decision-making.鈥�
Education leaders are frank about what they believe would demonstrate leadership: more money from the federal government.
Enfield says the reaction she鈥檚 looking for from the nation鈥檚 capital is essentially: 鈥淗ere are the steps you have to take, and here are the dollars that we will allocate to support that. I mean, it鈥檚 pretty basic.鈥�
Infante-Green said bluntly of DeVos: 鈥淚 need her to advocate for more dollars.鈥�
And Hinojosa expressed his support for a House-passed bill that contains $58 billion in direct coronavirus aid for schools, and stressed that as far as his community and Texas are concerned, 鈥淭he crisis doesn鈥檛 seem to be dissipating. It seems to be expanding.鈥�
Policies in the Lone Star State continue to be a moving target. On July 15, the state education department said districts could conduct remote learning full-time without losing state aid鈥攂ut only if signed off on it, the Texas Tribune reported.
鈥楻esting on Our Shoulders鈥�
But not everyone observing the situation takes the same view on lack of leadership鈥攐r the central role of money鈥攚hen it comes to the needs of the needs of students and parents.
In the spring, Ginny Gentles watched the Arlington, Va., district鈥檚 response to the pandemic and to her children鈥檚 education with deep frustration over what she saw as the lack of robust academic options offered remotely. The experience has led her to focus her demand for leadership on her local district and others: 鈥淢ake wise commitments and visions. And make a commitment to educating children and serving families well.鈥�
A visiting fellow at the right-leaning Independent Women鈥檚 Forum, who worked on Capitol Hill and in the Education Department under President George W. Bush, she said what Trump and DeVos have communicated represents 鈥渃lear direction鈥� regardless of whether local K-12 leaders like it. And a new federal aid package, she said, won鈥檛 provide concrete help to schools by the time they start the 2020-21 year.
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 Betsy DeVos鈥� fault that this is going to be a challenging school year,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hat she says or what President Trump says does not ultimately impact local decisions.鈥� At the same time, the Education Department, she said, should serve as more of a 鈥渞epository for success stories鈥� and 鈥渟haring what works well.鈥�
As Garden, the Holden, Mass., principal, prepares for the upcoming school year, she has a not-dissimilar desire for the federal government to release recommendations that draw on good plans beyond the one 鈥渇lashy鈥� district DeVos singled out for praise recently (the Miami-Dade district). But she expressed little optimism that would take place.
Instead, Garden is watching the local budget-cutting process unfold. She鈥檚 had to let two teachers and a paraprofessional go and an assistant principal leave without being certain she can hire a replacement. And she鈥檚 changing course so that she now views her role as principal of an 鈥渦rgent care facility.鈥� The focus, she said bluntly, is not on teaching and learning, but on health and welfare.
鈥淚鈥檓 like: Oh, sure, now we鈥檙e in the public eye,鈥� Garden said. 鈥淚 do feel like it鈥檚 resting on our shoulders. It鈥檚 a lot of weight to carry, a lot of stress, and a lot of worry.鈥�
