The Catholic School Community During COVID-19
Catholic School Leadership for Equity & Excellence During COVID-19 and Always
As educators, we are all committed to leading for equity and excellence, which sometimes can feel like an overwhelming enterprise in the current COVID-19 crisis. As Catholic Schools have opened in the fall of 2020 for remote, hybrid and in-person learning, school leaders must balance the logistical, technical, emotional, spiritual and academic needs of their communities. In the midst of the complexity of daily life in our schools, we find it clearer than ever that our students and faculty deserve our support. This global crisis has afforded Catholic schools the opportunity and agility to recommit to and continue the work of equity and excellence they strive for always, and opportunities to discover, create and innovate in response to the current situation in ways that will help us better serve our students not just now, but in the future. At LLA, we are here to support and collaborate with Catholic school and diocesan leaders spearheading these efforts every day.
As we navigate the challenges of returning to the classroom, balancing the needs of both in-person and remote learners, we must maintain a commitment to creating, sustaining and taking the opportunity to improve upon the culture of achievement we aspire towards everyday.
To guide school leaders at the helm during the current circumstance, Lynch Leadership Academy suggests that the following mindframes and guiding principles should drive our collective approach:
Root yourself in your moral imperative: In these times of unprecedented uncertainty, school leaders will undoubtedly face challenging decisions where the best path forward might be unclear or unknown, and in which there are competing ideas or priorities. Leaders should anchor their decisions to reflect their deeply-held values and unwavering commitment to equity and excellent instruction.
Lead with empathy and awareness: Families, teachers, and students look for leadership in times of uncertainty. It is often tempting to take action to demonstrate leadership. Yet it is perhaps more important to listen carefully to others’ needs, feelings, and concerns and ask important questions to understand diverse perspectives. You are exercising leadership when you listen with empathy even if it is not a conventional leadership behavior in crisis. It is also important to be aware of yourself, to know your triggers and blindspots, and to respond rather than react to pressure from others to provide certainty in a time of ambiguity. Especially in these challenging times, taking care of others in your community with empathy and generosity of spirit is an aspect of effective leadership.
Foster the intellectual genius in every student: Now, as always, it is critical for leaders, teachers and other community members to maintain high belief in students and to focus on learning and thinking as the most important tasks of a school. First, leaders must strive to take every possible step to ensure equitable access to learning for all students, whether they are sitting in our classrooms or logging into or classrooms remotely. Then, even in virtual space, it is possible to acknowledge and respond to the intellectual gifts and capacity of our students. These students are capable of making meaning of complex ideas and can achieve at high levels in their academic work. Sparking and responding to students’ curiosity and wonder is one avenue we can take to ensure students feel known and valued.
Seek opportunity and think flexibly: A number of schools led by alumni from our Fellowship have found that remote learning has been an opportunity to collaborate in new and different ways with students, families, and faculty. Alumni have found that it is possible to foster deep collaboration around the nature of student learning, the role of the teacher and families in the learning of students and assessing learning for mastery. Most school improvement and change efforts require people to work together in new ways and so there are opportunities to rethink how time is used for collaboration, to reconsider the problems that need to be solved to improve the learning of all students, and to reimagine how to build communities committed to partnerships with families. Discoveries and innovations made now can have exponential benefit as we move forward together.
Resources
LLA is committed to supporting the work of educators during these unprecedented times. See below for new content from the LLA Community. Each section focuses on a different priority for action right now and within each you will find blog posts, curated tools and resources, and spotlights of LLA alumni leaders in Catholic schools who are doing effective work. If you are a member of the LLA community and are finding successful strategies and would like to share, please contact the LLA team at lynchacademy@bc.edu.
Viewpoint: LLA Excellent Instruction Tool/Classroom Observation Tool
Introduction to Screencast: As instructional leaders navigate the challenges of providing both remote and in-person learning, LLA’s Classroom Observation Tool and Excellent Instruction Tool engage our thinking around the necessary components of student engagement to provide for academic success.
Viewpoint: Culture of Achievement
Introduction to Screencast: Lynch Leadership Academy’s work is grounded in the research of Dr. Theresa Perry. Dr. Perry’s work on creating a culture of achievement in school communities provides the foundation for maintaining academic excellence in both in-person and remote learning environments.
Viewpoint: Coaching Tool
Introduction to Screencast: Regardless of whether school communities are meeting in person or offering remote instruction, the role of principal as instructional leader does not shift. In response to this role, the leader not only articulates a vision of excellent instruction but also engages the faculty in the process through effective observations and subsequent coaching meetings.
Viewpoint: Adapting Recruitment & Enrollment Strategies for the Remote Experience
Ali Dutson: President Mission Grammar, Roxbury
Title: Recruitment and Enrollment in the Midst of Remote Learning
Introduction to Slidedeck: In the spring of 2020 as instruction moved to remote learning so too did Catholic schools recruitment and enrollment process. Mission Grammar School President Ali Dutson saw the opportunity that this presented to engage with families as well as the chance to share the narrative of excellent instruction offered at Mission Grammar School.
Viewpoint: Adapting Curriculum in Remote Instruction
Siobhan Mahoney (Assistant Head of School, Mount Alvernia High School, Newton)
Title: Re-envisioning High School Instruction in Remote Learning
Introduction to Screencast: Prior to the decision to move instruction to online platforms the Mount Alvernia High School faculty began the conversation of what elements of the curriculum needed to be maintained in order to provide for student success. Assistant Head of School, Siobhan Mahoney, illustrates the process that the MAHS team leveraged in guiding its work.
Viewpoint: Adapting Curriculum in Remote Instruction
Siobhan Mahoney (Assistant Head of School, Mount Alvernia High School, Newton)
Title: Re-envisioning High School Instruction in Remote Learning
Introduction to Screencast: Prior to the decision to move instruction to online platforms the Mount Alvernia High School faculty began the conversation of what elements of the curriculum needed to be maintained in order to provide for student success. Assistant Head of School, Siobhan Mahoney, illustrates the process that the MAHS team leveraged in guiding its work.