NOW WHAT ? REBUILDING TRUST
1 . What are the costs — material and psychic — of the pandemic ? ( Hint : They are real and have yet to be fully measured .)
2 . What will it take to heal our communities , especially in the face of ongoing political and racial anxiety ?
3 . Rather than “ return to normal ,” how do we apply what we ’ ve learned since March 2020 to make school better than before ?
4 . What does the strategic landscape look like , and what choices should we make to position and differentiate our school ?
Costs . Healing . Learning . Strategic choices . Addressing each effectively requires a twohanded mental gymnastic that I have attempted throughout my career , as often as not without success but always the compass for major decisions about the future . Imagine your two hands , palms open . In the left hand , you hold on to what ’ s tried and true , timelessly at the core of what ’ s good and effective in school . In the right hand , you hold a spirit of innovation and focus on the future , to continuously improve , to do what ’ s best for students and school . Without the left hand , you risk losing your bearings and veering off course . Without the right hand , you ’ ll never change , never grow , never improve . With both hands working together , you might just win the future .
“ True healing means acknowledging the costs of the pandemic — the losses , and the significant trauma . Healing well also requires that we assess and apply lessons learned and move forward with purpose , conviction , and the courage to change .”
The desire to return to normal seems ... well ... normal . But we should resist that temptation . As attractive as it feels , we should ask ourselves : What if we miss the opportunity to grow from struggle ? Of course we want to leave the pain behind , to soothe our aching , disoriented souls with the balm of the familiar and comfortable . But the times call for more than pain relief , or the feel-good bromide of a return to normal . True healing means acknowledging the costs of the pandemic — the losses , and the significant trauma . Healing well also requires that we assess and apply lessons learned and move forward with purpose , conviction , and the courage to change . Instead of “ I can ’ t wait to return to normal ,” let ’ s ask “ What are we learning , and what can we do better ?”
In 2008 , after Lehman Brothers collapsed and the economy seemed ready to implode , independent schools faced strategic — if not existential — challenges . In those days , my Board Chair inspired me with words that have buoyed and inspired me ever since . He said , “ Mark , smart organizations take market share in a crisis .” We heard a lot of that sentiment in those days , especially from Wall Street where its roots in Machiavelli (“ never waste the opportunity afforded by a good
Continues on page 10
CSEE Connections Fall 2021 Page 9