Part 7: Leading in a Time of Crisis – a Conversation with Principal Mike Oliver
“Zaharis Elementary School isn’t a place as much as it is a way of living, a way of learning, a way of being, a way of becoming. And while we have had an 18 year history of gathering at the school, where we learn with and from each other, we can certainly continue to thrive as learners, even though we’re not gathering at the same place anymore.”
Today on Getting Unstuck
Most of us are living in an unprecedented time. Not since World War II, have we experienced something that can literally impact every person on the planet. Getting through the COVID-19 pandemic is taking incredible resources and resourcefulness. It is also forcing us to look at one another and work with one another differently. And one place of work where that is extremely evident is in schools
What follows is one conversation in a series of conversations we’re having with educators across the country on how they are leading their schools in this time of crisis. Because these educators are extremely busy helping their schools and communities to pivot, we’ve intentionally limited these conversations to approximately 15 minutes.
It’s our hope that these conversations will provide nuggets of solid advice and emotional support to other educators on the front lines of change.
Principal Mike Oliver
In this episode we hear from:
Mike Oliver, Principal Zaharis Elementary School, Mesa, AZ
Listen for:
Beyond coordinating the logistics of online instruction, the current work is all about
Continuing the school’s mission of learning, caring, rejoicing, and working together to create a more just compassionate, insightful world.
Experimenting with ways to collaborate and innovate in new ways.
Providing students with opportunities to learn in authentic ways now and in the future (given that standardized testing and grading have been suspended).
“Every day our teachers zoom with their classes. But what I’ve been saying is that right now, this isn’t about content. It’s not about all these learning objectives and standards. It’s about feeling connected. It’s about being human. It’s about helping people feel that they’re part of something – that they’re not isolated. It’s about leadership.”
Could a book on how to effectively lead change in schools be more timely?
We’re pleased to announce …
…that our book Shifting: How School Leaders Can Create a Culture of Change is now available from Corwin Press or Amazon. If you purchase from Amazon, please consider leaving us a rating and review. Thank you!
From our publisher:
In Shifting, educators and leadership experts Kirsten Richert, Jeff Ikler and Margaret Zacchei empower educational change leaders to proactively and coherently navigate complex change in schools to achieve the desired outcomes. Using a three-part framework—Assess, Ready, Change—this book leads educators to examine a school’s imperatives and readiness for change, identity the tools and abilities required to manifest change, and take action by defining the roles and processes necessary to effectively implement both sweeping change and smaller day-to-day adjustments.