I just read a piece put out by Transcend Education entitled “Responding, Recovering, and Reinventing.”  In a nutshell, the article presents these three Rs as a framework for addressing the COVID-19 crisis in schools.  I certainly have felt like the past 2 months have been an intense Response to an emergency crisis.  We’ve virtually redesigned an entire district system in a matter of weeks.  The Responding element of the framework very much rings true, and it has been a very heavy lift.

As for the Recovering, I’m not 100% sure when that is supposed to happen, or what that entirely means.  I think everyone is hopeful that the summer months will bring at least a measure of recovery time.  Perhaps the most difficult element of the Recovering mode is the question of how do you adequately recover when the short term time horizon is filled with so much uncertainty?  I think everyone is waiting to exhale and welcome some distant moment of predictability.  But that moment does not seem to be forthcoming.  Instead, our pivot to reinventing and planning for the future requires that we plan for multiple scenarios and contingencies, which of course demands a high level of organizational integration and collaboration.  Large systems struggle to produce a single coherent plan for meaningful student learning and fiscal solvency under typical conditions; planning for multiple scenarios simultaneously requires a capacity that is stretching everyone.

The article describes Recovery as a time for “recouping learning” and for “restoring community.”  We are actively pursuing both of these outcomes.  We redesigned our summer programs to include a robust “summer bridge” experience for our students that would address the most essential learning standards that were missed during the physical school closure.  The summer months also buy us some much needed time in our pursuit of an internet connectivity solution that will be robust enough to meet the long term needs of our students and community.  Our team of Family and Community Engagement workers have designed virtual town halls and school level community meetings, all with the goal of “restoring community” and bringing a sense of connection and support during a difficult time for many of our families.  We don’t yet entirely know the economic fallout for Santa Ana, but we have enough data and anecdotal stories to know that it is hitting hard.  Of course the Santa Ana ethic is and has always been to keep moving forward with faith in the future while seeking the benefits of hard work and education.  But still, times are difficult for many.

On a personal level, my family and I are preparing for a transition to Costa Rica, and so our recovery will be more of a reset.  Certainly it will not allow much time for physical or mental “recovery.”  Every spare moment right now is spent in making arrangments for our move.  We’ve sold our house, made living arrangements, and I’m checking in each week with the leadership team at the Lincoln School where I’ll be serving as General Director come July 1.  We’re incredibly excited about the opportunity to join the Lincoln family, although the uncertainty of when the airport in San Jose will reopen and whether we’ll actually be able to make the move on time has certainly been an ongoing source of some anxiety.  Of course, we consider ourselves tremendously blessed and recognize that in many ways, the entire world is passing through a universal moment of anxiety and difficulty.

I am very much energized to move on to the Reinventing part of the framework, but think it is important not to forget the healing and connecting that comes via time for Recovery.  For some, the impact of the physical closure has set back plans and dreams for the future, if at least temporarily.  I’m a deeply goal and task-oriented person, and the call for Recovery has been a good reminder that everyone needs some space to rest and heal in life after confronting a crisis.