A Whole New Ballgame: Site Administrators Navigate the Reopening of School Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: Leading in the Time of COVID-19: Navigating the Unknown

Abstract

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic challenged educational leaders to adapt policies and practices during a time when educators were thrust into what has been referred to as “crisis schooling,” (Baker, 2020). Knowing that school administrators were responding to challenging circumstances, we wondered how their attitudes and perspectives were impacted during the reopening of schools in the fall of 2020. By surveying and performing regular, in-depth interviews with two school administrators from the same site during the first six weeks of reopening, we intend to gather data that reveals these leaders’ feelings regarding self-efficacy, support and equity. Results of this study aspire to inform research, practice and school/district policies that are impacted by worldwide events that significantly affect educational leadership.

Authors

• James A. Martinez, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

• Lisa Amick, University of Kentucky

• Sydney Elaine McAbee, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville