Welcome Back. We are entering the Fall of 2021 with some uncertainly, some clarity, and for some of us a little anxiety. Knowing what September will bring in August is proving to change minute by minute. So as you are thinking about speaking in front of staff at back-to-school events, preparing your first week of lessons, or reflecting on what you what to accomplish this year try using a framework to provide clarity, direction, and action.

Be Humble. This is not the year to be it all, do it all, and be it all for everyone. Actually, this might be the year to bury that mindset for good. Recalibrating your perspective of taking care of everyone else first to taking care of yourself first is going to be essential in sustaining the changes this year will bring. Admitting you need help, you don’t know it all, or you can’t do it all is the first right step. 

For me, that starts with stop apologizing. Stop saying you are sorry when you can’t commit to multiple evening events or extra committees this year. Stop apologizing when you have to take a day off for medical appointments or to stay home with a sick child, or even yourself. Stop apologizing when you prioritize your own mental health moving forward. 

And stop apologizing when you don’t have an immediate answer to a tough question.  Being vulnerable in leadership requires you to listen and learn more than you thought necessary. Leading with vulnerability also allows you to have honest conversations, share your worries and mistakes, and learning with and from your team. This work is humbling, hard and provides a foundation for strong school culture. 

Be Helpful. While I might not be able to predict for parents what October will look like, I can provide information on how to support their scholars as we move back to school in late August. I can’t guarantee that we won’t have quarantines or school closures but I can provide teachers frameworks for what that might look like. Be helpful is not being an expert. Being helpful is providing information, and holding space for questions, and learning from our experiences and our mistakes.

Be Hopeful.  Looking forward to the year, and being optimistic about what is coming isn’t wrong. Being grateful for the good things doesn’t erase the bad things, but it might help us develop the resiliency we need to move forward. 

“Moral of the story is: We thrive when we have a positive goal to move toward, not just a negative state we’re trying to move away from.”

― Emily Nagoski, Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle

So look forward, look ahead, and look for the good in every day. Take time to rest, reset and get ready for the 2021-22 school year.

Jessica