For young people graduating high school in the midst of a pandemic, a gap year before starting college is becoming a more popular option. The changes to the traditional “college experience” and added stress due to COVID-19, including remote learning, social distancing and cancelled events, is causing many college students to just take a year off. Is your K-12 school district doing the same thing? I have talked with many K-12 directors, educators and project managers who have told me that the rush to implement changes due to COVID-19 has pulled resources from nearly all other projects causing delays and cancellations and leaving their teams anxious and stressed. But this isn’t the case with all districts.
American novelist James Lane said that “adversity does not build character; it reveals it” and in working with districts over the past 6 months, I have found this to be true. In short, if a district is forward thinking about technology, aggressive in project completion with strong accountability, and focused on people, COVID-19 has been a speed bump, not a roadblock. On the other hand, if a district is slower to adapt new technology, more partial to traditional processes, and tolerant of project delays, COVID-19 may have stalled or cancelled many new initiatives. Some districts have become “stuck”.
This is obviously just an observation and not a scientific poll, but I raise the issue because I believe many people need permission to become unstuck! Budgets are stuck, projects are stuck, and people are stuck in their homes so how does 2020-2021 not become a gap year for your school district’s projects? How can you make progress now to be better in the 2021-2022 school year? Here are some behaviors I have noticed from school districts whose projects are still “flowing”:
- They used the pandemic to identify areas for improvement. When all school buildings were locked down, people were still having to come to the buildings. Why? For many it was because of lack of technology or automated processes. Whatever processes drove your employees or parents to a building is an area for improvement! Forward-thinking districts identified these opportunities and are working on solutions such as online registration and remote data capture using electronic forms and workflow.
- They utilize new blocks of time to get more done. The ability (or necessity) to work remotely has created its own problems but also opportunities. Many people I have talked to are able get more work done because of more focused time. Even workers reporting to offices are telling me they have more time to work on projects or higher value tasks because they are attending less meetings, spending less time at the “water-cooler” and generally experiencing fewer interruptions.
- They feed solutions and starve problems. What new ideas or technologies has your district been meaning to look at but hasn’t due to shortages of the time, budget or energy? Is there a new tool or process your team has been considering? If so, now may be the perfect time to evaluate it. Many processes are being changed by necessity which also creates a great opportunity for improvement. Budgets are tight but many states are allowing budgets to be reallocated due to COVID-19. Perhaps your district has funds now that weren’t available at the beginning of the fiscal year. Spending resources on opportunities instead of just problems can position your district for success in the coming year and beyond!
This school year will be forever remembered for the impact COVID-19 has had on our schools, our districts, our staff and our children. What the next school year looks like will be based upon the action or inaction we take now. A gap year can be formative and helpful to an 18-year-old who isn’t sure what they are looking to do for the rest of their life. It is not helpful for K-12 school districts charged with preparing the young person to make that decision.
If your district or team is experiencing a gap year, here are some resources which can help get things unstuck:
The Growing Leaders Blog by Tim Elmore is one of the best resources for leadership strategies for K-12 school districts.
Harvard Business has published a great series of articles on how to motivate your team and lead.
Please reach out if you have ideas or if we can help!