LM May.2021_FINAL

Message From the Executive Director Focus on Your Personal Health andWell-Being: Your Communities Need You

Dr. Brent Clark

No matter how strong a leader you are, or think you are, this past year has taken its toll on everyone. I strongly encourage you to take some time to regroup, recharge and refocus, however that looks for you. Your school districts and communities are once again going to need the strong leadership each of you provides to address the immense challenges that lie ahead. As we wrote last May, “Like the flight attendant says on an airplane, put your oxygen mask on first.” Meanwhile, IASA remains committed to providing members support and resources to navigate these unparalleled times. We plan to continue to offer our Mindfulness Matters sessions, as well as other timely workshops to help superintendents get centered and refocused. In addition, I want to remind you counseling services are available to IASA Active members via a private provider, ComPsych®. Information about how to access the service was emailed to active members and can be resent upon request. We’re in the final stretch of the 2020-21 school year, and the finish line is clearly in sight. However, a new race is waiting around the corner. Try to take some time for yourself, and your family, before preparing to run again.

In so many ways, school districts across the state have adapted and evolved over the past year to try and meet the needs of students in a new learning environment. Technology has greatly expanded, communication has improved and new supports have been implemented. However, in some ways, it feels like the old saying, “the more things change, the more they stay the same,” is apropos to our current situation. On May 27, 2020, IASA and the COVID-19 Transition Team released a message encouraging superintendents to hit the pause button until new guidance from the state is released. We wrote, “The plane doesn’t need to be built today,” and “I just want to encourage you to take some time to recharge your batteries after an exhausting and demanding stretch.” It’s early May and superintendents, who are planners at heart, are once again looking ahead to the fall and wondering when guidance will be released and what school will look like? It kind of sounds familiar to where we stood last May. I recognize it’s not easy convincing superintendents to catch their breath — after this school year ends, of course — but I believe strongly it’s critical for leaders to focus on their personal health and well-being. The amount of stress superintendents have endured this past year is incalculable. We’re way past an exhausting and demanding “stretch” and fully into the marathon. I have talked to numerous superintendents whose personal health has suffered mightily as a result of stress, and I’m, quite frankly, concerned about how everyone is holding up.

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LM May 2021