by Nancy Mugele, Head of School
Some of you know that we unwound our Montana family vacation this summer in the wake of COVID. I am pretty down about it because I am not certain that my family can all be together for the holidays this year. But, as I reflect upon all of the negatives about COVID, and there are too many to name, I have also found some positivity. As a human and as a school leader, I have learned some valuable and important lessons in the past months.
Be Vulnerable
I am a huge Brené Brown fan. From the moment I first heard her speak three years ago at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) annual conference, I have been hooked. Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston where she holds the Huffington Foundation Brené Brown Endowed Chair of the Graduate College of Social Work, is the author of five #1 New York Times Best Sellers, and I have internalized all five. She has studied courage, vulnerability, and empathy for two decades and she shares it with an easy comfort.
At NAIS, she described earning her worst evaluations from students after a hurricane devastated Houston and she felt the university reopened too soon. Brown “was her worst self,” as she put it, because of “how I was showing up.” It was a powerful reminder that, as leaders and educators, we cannot bring our own personal fears and issues into our workplace. This takes courage. And courage’s foundation is vulnerability. “We’re not wired for vulnerability but it is the birthplace of love, belonging, and joy,”
In late April, I told the Kent School employee group that I had hit a proverbial wall the previous week, resulting in tears, indecisiveness, and self-doubt. We were navigating something that had never been done before and it was hard. This shared vulnerability gave our faculty, and those who support teaching and learning, permission to validate their own sadness and concerns, and work through it. The struggle is real for educators and parents, and we have to acknowledge it.
Promote Love and Belonging
One of my favorite poets, Emily Dickinson, wrote: I scarcely know where to begin but love is always a safe place. This is my mantra, one I borrowed from a beloved Headmistress. Especially now, our employees, students and families must know how deeply we care. Listening and communicating are the ways in which I share my vulnerability and love, and I have tried to be transparent in this summer of planning for our safe return to campus. The landscape changes daily, yet writing updates and holding virtual Town Hall meetings, as well as meeting individually with teachers and families, has touched my heart in ways I could have never imagined. The stories that build and change lives must be heard with love and care, and families must know that their belonging in the Kent School community is tangible to me.
Re-Imagine Education
We were not strategically launching Kent School Online when we steered the Kent School program to distance learning in March. And, now as we look toward a safe return to our campus, and our unparalleled environment for learning, because we know that nothing replaces the rich experiences our students share with their teachers in their classrooms, we are mindful of the global health crisis and the ever-changing health and safety guidelines.
No matter how schools begin this academic year – in person, hybrid, or with complete distance learning – education is permanently changed. While none of us want to have “COVID” classrooms, because they derail everything we know about good teaching and learning, we are doing the best we can with the medical guidance we have to build healthy and safe schools. The physical distance pieces of this plan are temporary, but at Kent School differentiating ourselves by creating an outdoor education program combined with a vibrant hybrid model of direct instruction and distance learning is exciting to imagine and create. We can look at this time of COVID as a test for our new plan and look confidently to our bright future.
Find the Joy
This one has been the hardest for me, yet when I think of our students returning to campus, I know that if we can laugh together, or at least smile together, it will make us all feel better. Large boxes of mobile hand sanitizer units will arrive at Kent School this week. I imagine shuffling them around often as we get the feel for day-to-day operations in this time of COVID. This could be fun and funny! First Grade’s Funny Friday tradition should be institutionalized for the entire school to tell jokes and riddles on Fridays. I also hope we can make wearing face coverings joyful in some way, and see how happy we can all make our eyes!
We can do this, Ospreys!
Kent School Writes 