As part of my monthly Education, Leadership & Culture series, four administrators joined me for a conversation about what public and private school administrators are doing in this “Back to School” season. My guests are Ellen Bartling, Executive Director of HOPE Christian Schools (Wisconsin); Rashid Bell, Principal at KIPP One Primary (Illinois); Duane Magee, Superintendent of Norwalk Community Schools (Iowa); and Summer Wood, Principal at F.J. Jenkins Preparatory (Tennessee).

As part of my monthly Education, Leadership & Culture series, four guests joined me for a conversation about what public and private school teachers are doing in this “Back to School” season. My guests are Amber Bryant, Lead Elementary Guide at The Forest School (Georgia); Michael Dunlea, a teacher at Tabernacle Elementary School (New Jersey); Cristina Nica, STEM Lead Teacher at The Piney Woods School (Mississippi); and Cicely Woodard, high school mathematics teacher in Springfield Public Schools (Missouri).

Represented in the conversations are administrators and educators who work with rural and urban students, high-poverty and middle-class families, students with diverse learning needs, and in states where the politics about masks and vaccinations are ongoing.

Our dialogue centered around the opening of schools during Covid-19, its impact on teaching and learning, the opportunities and challenges with having students in class and others online, and important professional and personal lessons learned between Spring 2020 and Fall 2021.

It is worth noting that four of the eight guests participated in a “Character and Education Seminar” hosted by the Advanced Studies in Culture Foundation, and the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, in July 2021.

Overall, the conversation with each group was enlightening on many accounts. I hope you enjoy it.