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For most school superintendents, COVID-19 has been the biggest professional challenge of their careers. Ironically, though, if not for the virus, and the stay-at-home orders they issued several weeks ago, they would now be facing an even bigger test of their leadership.

If their schools had remained in session, superintendents would now be wrestling with how best to comfort outraged and grieving students, parents, and teachers. They would be facing a constant deluge of urgent in-person appeals to do something about systemic racism in K-12 education. And as prominent public officials, they would be expected to step up to the podium and speak out in response to the death of yet another Black person at the hands of the police.

In fact, many superintendents have seized the moment and spoken out on racial justice. But many others have not. That isn’t to say they’ve been lazy — they’ve been working around the clock to provide food and shelter to children and families, manage the transition to remote instruction, offer support to overwhelmed teachers, and solve all of the other insanely complicated problems brought on by the coronavirus. By and large, though, they’ve been leading from a distance, via Zoom, which means they simply haven’t been subject to the intense, face-to-face demands for reform that have been directed at mayors, police chiefs, and other officials since the killing of George Floyd. Nor, given that their schools won’t reopen until the fall, have they faced the same degree of pressure to respond immediately. In short, they haven’t yet faced crowds of protesters insisting that they take action, right now, to put an end to unjust policies and practices in their schools.

In short, district leaders who’ve never been willing to engage in difficult conversations about race, wealth, privilege, and education may be tempted to use the pandemic as an opportunity to bide their time. In response to calls for racial justice, some have issued superficial public statements, full of pablum about coming together, reflecting on our roles, celebrating diversity. Others have said nothing at all.

The time for stronger leadership is now

Like everybody else, school superintendents vary in their political beliefs and moral commitments. But they all tend to be similar in one respect: They’re very careful about what they say to whom. Given that they serve at the pleasure of an elected board of education, they must act in ways that comport with the prevailing beliefs and values of local community members or they risk losing their job.

For superintendents who are reluctant to rock the boat, and who work in relatively homogeneous communities, this can make for a long and pleasant career. As long as they say nothing that threatens the privileged and powerful, they’ll be fine. But for those who are truly committed to providing equitable opportunities for all children, the job requires a constant balancing act, particularly if they work in a diverse district where community members themselves are at odds over what they want from their schools. On one hand, they must advocate for those (most often students of color) who’ve been ill-served by the school system, and they must make concrete plans to end unfair disciplinary practices, within-school segregation, resource-hoarding by affluent parents, and on and on. On the other hand, if they want to stick around long enough to right these wrongs, then they must also find a way to keep the White people happy.

In recent years, many of the nation’s 14,000 school districts have made at least some effort to confront long-standing injustices. Some have launched anti-racism initiatives and trainings for teachers, staff, and administrators. Others have promised to revise their policies on issues such as tracking, selection for gifted and talented programs, and the assignment of veteran teachers to advanced classes (policies that have always tended to favor the most privileged students). But while these may be positive steps, it’s time to move ahead in more dramatic and definitive ways, doing what’s right for all children even if that makes some people unhappy.

The moment has come not just to take half-steps toward equity in K-12 education but to take a real stand for it.

Concrete actions, specific resources

School superintendents — especially White ones — need to recognize that today’s street protests and demonstrations are motivated by a rare combination of purpose, solidarity, and urgency, suggesting that the moment has come not just to take half-steps toward equity in K-12 education but to take a real stand for it. It’s all to the good to invest in anti-bias trainings, organize book club discussions about White Fragility, and create social media campaigns tagged with #equity. But it’s time for district leaders to take more meaningful and concrete actions. For example:

  • Review all agreements with school resource officers and local police departments to ensure that there are clear lines of authority and responsibility, training, guidance and accountability. Some years ago, I outlined some of the specific strategies here. Also, pay attention to Portland, Oregon, where superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero is taking police out of schools.
  • Review your student discipline policies, procedures, and training guides, and revise accordingly. See here for details about work we did in the Montgomery County Public Schools.
  • Work with your school board to establish an equity policy that clearly states how the system will allocate resources to ensure that all students have access to high quality instruction, every day. What might this look like? District leaders in Madison, Wisconsin, have established a comprehensive policy and corresponding tools.
  • Review and revise your human resources practices to prioritize the recruitment, retention, and development of educators of color. Invite your current teachers and staff of color to be engaged in the process. For inspiration, take a look at the model now in use by the Highline, Washington, school district.
  • Establish an equity office with a cabinet-level leader who reports directly to the superintendent. I wrote about this here.
  • Be proactive in reaching out to students and families of color who’ve long been disenfranchised by the school system. Then listen and learn. See Portland, Maine, for a comprehensive approach that emphasizes student voice.
  • Take a close look at the K-12 curriculum, and if it’s not culturally relevant, revise it. For example, see how superintendent Sonja Santileses is leading the way in Baltimore City, Maryland.
  • Create policies or procedures to eliminate tracking and provide open access to high-level courses. Here’s a case study of the detracking work we did in Stamford, Connecticut.
  • Make sure your best and most experienced teachers are assigned to work with the most vulnerable students. The Education Trust has useful suggestions about how to approach this.
  • Review school zone boundaries and change them if necessary to promote more integrated schools. No doubt, some affluent White parents will oppose you, but you can turn to the Century Foundation for resources to help you tackle this issue.
  • Finally, for your own professional development, you can browse these recommended resources to learn more about what it means to be an anti-racist leader.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Joshua P. Starr

JOSHUA P. STARR is the managing partner at the International Center for Leadership in Education , a division of HMH, based in Boston, MA. He is the author of Equity-based Leadership: Leveraging Complexity to Transform School Systems .