Havens of Hope: Ideas for Redesigning Education from the Covid-19 Pandemic

Leibowitz (coauthor of The Coach Approach to School Leadership), founder of a childcare center and preschool, highlights educators’ varied responses to the Covid-19 pandemic to show how it became an opportunity for innovation. As schools and chidcare centers were confronted with closures, financial uncertainty, and remote learning, educators were forced to find “ways to care for and teach children in the frightening, uncertain environment in which we found ourselves,” and here profiles educators from across the country who found novel ways to respond to the pandemic: a teacher at a preschool in Santa Clara, Calif., “redefine[d] what a field trip can be” by taking her students to her garden via video; the director of a Hudson Valley school came up with a tiered tuition system to help families deal with financial challenges; and a charter school teacher in L.A. created projects based on what she learned about kids’s homes from virtual sessions (many students had space-themed bedrooms, so the class created their own “podcast” about space). Ultimately, Leibowitz writes, “we can revitalize our education system” and “improve the quality of our programs... create new approaches to learning, and so much more.” Leibowitz’s own experiences—having to furlough staff and adjust policies on the fly—give her account a vivid immediacy. Educators will appreciate the can-do spirit. (Aug.)