Summary: <br> This week, Jen Schwanke, joins me as we respond to more listener questions. Jen Schwanke is an author and education leader from Dublin City Schools in Dublin, Ohio.<br> <br> <br> <br> Question: How do you manage leading a school through the grief of losing a teacher to COVID?<br> <br> <br> <br> Here are some of the points we cover in response:<br> <br> <br> <br> * Grief is loss — COVID involves fear — it is important to keep both those dynamics in mind when dealing with loss. * Loss takes time and community. Leaders need to involve others in the process of healing.* Fear takes action and, in the case of COVID, isolation has added to the difficulty of working through grief.* Remember that reconciling these losses is different for different types of people.<br> <br> <br> <br> Understanding “The Five Stages of Grief” by Kubler-Ross can be helpful. These include:<br> <br> <br> <br> * Denial* Anger* Bargaining* Depression* Acceptance <br> <br> <br> <br> Here is a resource for more reading: <a href="https://www.psycom.net/depression.central.grief.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.psycom.net/depression.central.grief.html</a><br> <br> <br> <br> 8 Ways to Help Your School Manage Grief<br> <br> <br> <br> In 2013, Will shared a post about managing the grief of student loss with the following tips. These steps include:<br> <br> <br> <br> 1. Communicate, communicate, communicate.<br> <br> <br> <br> 2. Be present and visible.<br> <br> <br> <br> 3. Maintain as much stability and routine as possible.<br> <br> <br> <br> 4. Allow creative and spontaneous responses.<br> <br> <br> <br> 5. Ask for help from outside the school.<br> <br> <br> <br> 6. Enjoy and appreciate your students.<br> <br> <br> <br> 7. Be prepared for media contact.<br> <br> <br> <br> 8. Allow yourself time to grieve.<br> <br> <br> <br> <a href="https://williamdparker.com/2013/12/04/8-ways-to-help-your-school-manage-grief/">You can read the original post here.</a><br> <br> <br> <br> Also, we refer to a children’s book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rough-Patch-Brian-Lies/dp/0062671278">The Rough Patch</a> by Brian Lies, that can be helpful when working with staff or students who need context for discussing grief:<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Question: We are seeing an escalation of behaviors as we transition back to school. How can we better equip teachers to adjust to this unexpected scenario? <br> <br> <br> <br> * Just as we teach math and science, we need to teach behaviors, too. * Yes, there is an instructional loss here, but addressing it may take different tools.* As leaders, it is our responsibility to provide professional learning, books/resources and specialists in learning behaviors.* When possible, collaborate with parents for solutions.<br> <br> <br> <br> A helpful resource is a previous podcast with Dr. Don Parker on Building Bridges to Reach Students. <a href="https://williamdparker.com/2020/04/08/pmp189-building-bridges-to-reach-students-with-dr-don-parker/">You can access that post here.</a><br> <br> <br> <br> Now It’s Your Turn<br> <br> <br> <br> We would be honored to hear your feedback or suggestions on these questions or to answer questions you would like us to address. Please reach out at will@williamdparker.com.<br>
