Clearly, we have been, and continue to be, living in unprecedented times. The changes we have experienced brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020 have impacted every facet of our daily lives. This current crisis has certainly shone a light upon the critical roles that public schools play in the lives of our students, their families and our communities as a whole.
Yet, despite the immense challenges, I continue to be so appreciative of the leadership shown by Florida’s district school superintendents to ensure that students continue to learn, teachers are teaching, school and district staff are employed, and public schools continue to serve as the cornerstone of their communities. I attribute this outstanding leadership to two key qualities: resilience and strength.
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Resilience is a crucial characteristic of high-performing leaders. Resilience is the human capacity to meet adversity, setbacks and trauma, and then recover from them in order to live life fully. Resilient leaders bounce back from setbacks. They have the ability to sustain their energy level under pressure, to cope with disruptive changes and adapt.
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Strength is defined as the quality or state of being strong, the capacity for exertion or endurance. The term strength applies to the quality or property of a person or thing that makes possible the exertion of force or the withstanding of strain, pressure, or attack.
Whereas leadership is quite simply the capacity to lead, clearly one’s capacity to be an effective leader is directly tied to their resilience and strength. And I assert that there are fewer jobs that are tougher or more demanding than that of a district school superintendent. The immense responsibility that accompanies the role of being the educational leader of a community is not taken lightly by superintendents. Every decision a superintendent must make takes into consideration what is best for the students, teachers, district and school staff, as well as the community as a whole.
Difficult decisions have always played a key role in the job of a district school superintendent. The COVID-19 pandemic clearly multiplied the number and magnitude of those “difficult decisions.” And as with any difficult decision, there will be those that embrace and support it and those that disagree and judge, often without full understanding of the scope of the issue.
Through it all, Florida district school superintendents have continued to lead their communities with resilience and strength and make the tough choices necessary to ensure continued learning and educational opportunities in a safe environment for Florida’s nearly 2.9 million public school students.
Thank you for leading with resilience and strength. We will get through these trying times together and come out wiser, stronger and ever more committed to educational excellence and equity for all students.
~ Bill Montford, FADSS CEO