Coronavirus: Putting K-12 Leadership to the Test

In the Tulsa, Okla., school district, Nolberto Delgadillo, the district’s chief financial officer, has worked to make the budgeting process more transparent and understandable for the school community. Delgadillo will put that financial expertise into high gear as Tulsa, like other districts across the country, navigate a new financial reality amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Betti Wiggins, the officer of nutrition services in the Houston Independent School District, believes that school meals are as important to students as what they are learning in the classroom – and that school meals are a key ingredient in ensuring that students succeed academically. After Hurricane Harvey slammed into Texas in 2017 and shuttered Houston’s schools, Wiggins played a key role in helping the district devise with a plan to ensure that students were fed during the closure. Wiggins will share tips for meeting students’ food needs during this critical period.

In Hamilton Township, N.J., Wellington has worked for years to cultivate awareness about the harm that adverse childhood experiences can inflict on children and the adults who work with them, while Nellie Aspel, the director of exceptional children for Cleveland County Schools, N.C., has built systems of supports for students with disabilities and those facing trauma. They will address new challenges to students’ social and emotional well-being wrought by the pandemic, and ways leaders can adapt their strategies to maintain services for vulnerable children.

Since 2014, Shari Camhi has led the Baldwin Union Free School District in Baldwin, N.Y., where she has expanded career-technical “academies” for students and created multiple opportunities for them to explore future career options while still in high school. Under Camhi’s leadership, black and Hispanic students in the lower grades in Baldwin have outperformed their peers on New York state exams. She’ll share how she’s confronting the new demands of leading her district’s response to COVID-19.

Technology Director Mark Breen wants all students in the Vail, Ariz. district to be comfortable with technology—both its conceptual applications and specific skills like coding. Now, as the nation pivots to an unprecedented experiment in remote learning, he’ll share how Vail is adapting to the technology challenges at hand.

In Fulton County, Ga., Marsha Francis supports student-teachers as they adjust to the demands of the classroom, while in Daviess County, Ky., Jana Beth Francis helps teachers develop as problem-solvers and engage students in cognitively demanding work. In this discussion, the two leaders will share their insights into how COVID-19 is affecting teachers, and what districts can do to keep the focus on teaching and learning.

Gonzalo La Cava has led the Palm Beach County, Fla., district through a soup-to-nuts rethink of how teachers are hired and matched with schools and principals are supported to lead their buildings. He’ll take your questions about how the COVID-19 pandemic is raising new questions about those roles in a distance-learning environment, and how to keep a steady pipeline of talent for the fall.

In North Carolina’s Lee County, Johnnye Waller has helped create footholds for the most vulnerable students: those experiencing homelessness. Among many other roles, she serves as the district’s homeless liaison, educating staff about the signs of homelessness and connecting families to support. Her Project Lift-Off program, which provides academic and social emotional enrichment for homeless students, has been recognized as a model by the state.

Content provided by Illuminate Education

As districts navigate COVID-19 school closures, educators need the ability to quickly diagnose each student’s needs, align targeted whole child supports, and monitor progress. Teams need to strategically use resources and support a wide range and increased volume of student academic, social-emotional, and behavioral needs. Although much about the coming year is uncertain, we can still create a proactive, flexible plan for providing equitable and expedited data-driven decisions that accelerate learning for each and every student. Join us to discuss your questions and develop a plan for your team.

Attend this webinar to have your questions answered as you seek to further connect with your schools, teachers, students, and the community during this challenging time.

Content provided by Canvas

As students transition to learning from home, it’s important to recognize that the pressure to succeed remains, now amplified without their usual means of support. Trenton Goble, vice president of K-12 strategy at Instructure, moderates a discussion with two district leaders as they share insights on how to:

• Maintain a supportive culture for remote learners.
• Create consistency in instruction.
• Ensure communication processes are in place that answer students’ top questions and provide the support they need.

Attend this webinar to have your questions answered as you seek to further connect with your schools, teachers, students, and the community during this challenging time.

Content provided by Verizon

Many of you are leading the charge in the response to the coronavirus, and Verizon is grateful for the opportunity to partner with you. This pandemic has served as a reminder for why we do what we do: to deliver the solutions, services, and expertise that are critical to your missions, as shown by our work with Los Angeles Unified School District to bridge the digital divide and deliver distance learning solutions.
Join us in our virtual room to learn more and to ask us questions about how we can support your school in its efforts to respond to COVID-19.

Content provided by Istation

From RTI to MTSS, this discussion will help districts prepare educators for schoolwide intervention upon re-entry. Plus, experts offer guidance on adapting to the intervention challenges educators will face when students return to school. Join Istation’s DeAn Jeffrey and Ginger Brawley, former principals and now part of Istation’s professional development team, as they provide takeaways on how to approach intervention challenges created by the coronavirus.
In this discussion, two leaders will share evidence-based strategies for leading an effective schoolwide intervention process. Learn how to use data to drive decision making, implement the intervention process with fidelity, create schedules that ensure adequate time for intervention, monitor the impact of instruction using the PLC process, explore varying approaches to intervention, and more.

Content provided by BetterLesson

Instructional leaders are supporting a rapid shift towards distance learning and thinking about equity, learning continuity, and students’ needs. During this discussion BetterLesson educators share best practices, actionable resources, and learnings from district partners on the keys to making this shift successfully. Join this discussion to create a roadmap for:
• Creating success for teachers and students
• Assessing progress & planning for ongoing support
• Facilitating change management and growing instructional leadership