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This is the second part of a twenty-one blog series, 5 Years Later: Lessons, Innovation, and the Future of Public Education, exploring how how PreK-12 education has evolved and what lessons we carry forward. This series will highlight the resilience, creativity, and strategic adaptations that have redefined public education since the pandemic. View the full schedule and roster of contributors

The COVID-19 pandemic arrived like a wrecking ball. Classrooms emptied. Lessons shifted online. Teachers became tech troubleshooters, counselors, and community leaders overnight. There was no manual for what came next 鈥� just heart, grit, and an unwavering belief that students still needed us.

Educators recorded read-alouds, hosted Zoom meetings, organized socially distant parades, and reimagined everything. Some taught in person, others remotely, and many did both. We weren't just teaching 鈥� we were anchoring communities in the midst of chaos.

Leading Through Layers of Crisis

That same year, in the middle of the pandemic, I transitioned into a new principal role at Sangamon Valley Middle School. It was a leap of faith, but a meaningful one. The 2020鈥�2021 school year was a logistical puzzle 鈥� juggling hybrid schedules, contact tracing, and shifting guidelines. Then came 2021鈥�2022, a year many hoped would bring a return to 鈥渘ormal.鈥� Instead, it brought a reckoning 鈥� with burnout, behavioral escalations, and the long shadow of trauma.

At the same time, I was navigating profound personal challenges. My elderly father, diagnosed with Parkinson鈥檚, came to live with us. The isolation of the pandemic caused his health to decline, and soon dementia followed. I arranged care during the day and returned home to sleepless nights and a heavy emotional load. I was trying to be everything 鈥� principal, daughter, mother, wife, friend 鈥� while holding it all together for my staff and students.

And still, we showed up.

Centering People, Not Just Systems

Those years fundamentally reshaped my focus as a leader. I came to understand, more deeply than ever before, that the well-being of an organization rests on the well-being of its people. We often forget that behind every educator is a human being with their own story, their own battles. The quote by Brad Meitzer resonates deeply with me: 鈥淓veryone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.鈥�

My dual roles as an educational leader and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker gave me a unique lens during this crisis. I could see clearly how stress and trauma were affecting our schools 鈥� not just students, but staff as well. The most impactful strategies I found involved embedding mental health support into the culture of our schools: daily emotional check-ins, increased access to counselors, trauma-informed professional development, and most importantly, modeling vulnerability and empathy as a leader.

It also shaped how I approach leadership now. We normalize saying, 鈥淚 need help.鈥� We create space to be human.

Hope as a Leadership Practice

Mental health and belonging should not be side initiatives; they should be the framework through which all decisions are made.

The belief that hope is something we cultivate through intentional, compassionate action is the heart of my work. It鈥檚 also the foundation of my book, Lead with H.O.P.E.: Building a System of Self-Efficacy. The framework is rooted in the idea that fostering self-efficacy in both students and staff not only strengthens academic outcomes but also enhances resilience, emotional well-being, and organizational trust.

To other district leaders, I offer this advice: Lead with empathy and purpose. Build systems of support that are embedded, not reactive. Foster real connection 鈥� between staff, students, and families. Mental health and belonging should not be side initiatives; they should be the framework through which all decisions are made.

Since the pandemic, I鈥檝e seen how intentional changes 鈥� wellness check-ins, flexible learning models, staff-led professional development, and authentic community partnerships 鈥� can reignite joy and connection in our schools. The crisis revealed inequities and gaps, yes, but it also illuminated the power of resilience, of collective care, and of human-centered leadership.

Winston Churchill once said, 鈥淣ever let a good crisis go to waste.鈥� The pandemic was a crisis 鈥� but it鈥檚 also an opportunity. An opportunity to rebuild better. To rethink systems. To lead with compassion. Because hope is a dependent variable 鈥� it grows when we choose to act with purpose, care, and courage.

Let鈥檚 not waste this moment. Let鈥檚 lead with heart. Let鈥檚 rebuild with hope.