D21 Superintendent Addresses Covid-era Leadership Challenges, Staff Shortages, and Teacher Burn Out
Editor’s Note- CCCNews took some time out to catch up with North Wasco County School District Superintendent Carolyn Bernal as she has made it through her first 6 months of working as the lead executive in charge of some 2,800 students and 400 staff at five different schools in the district. We will roll out the interview in four parts during the next several days.
by Cole Goodwin
Welcome to Part 4 of the North Wasco County School District 21 Update with Superintendent Dr. Carolyn Bernal.
In this installment, we sit down with Bernal to talk about leadership challenges, staff shortages, and teacher burn out.
CG: We’ve really managed to get through a lot of questions with this Superintendent Update. I had just one question I think we sort of missed earlier that I wanted to ask. What are some of the challenges that you continue to face as leadership in D21 and how are you addressing those challenges?
Pictured: Superintendent Dr. Carolyn Bernal
CB: You know. It is a very challenging time right now to be a leader. But I thrive in challenging times, and I have a lot of hope for the future. I really do. The pandemic's not gonna be here forever. It's not. So, I see a lot of hope on the horizon and when I go into our schools and see the kids I just see a lot of hope. I see a lot of hope in their eyes. You can see a lot in people’s eyes even with the masks on.
So, I do see a lot of hope. But, you know, at the same time I think another huge challenge right now is dealing with exhaustion and burnout; staff, administrator, and teacher burnout. That's going to be a big challenge.
This next kind of half of the year is going to be a big challenge because I have heard people say in early November, they felt like it was April. That's how exhausted they were. And that's not good. That's not good. So I'll be talking to my principals and my administrative cabinet and ask: How we can support one another? And how we can support our teachers and our support staff to help them get through the rest of this year?
And how can we support those getting burned out and what can we do? Let's put our heads together and see what can we do collectively to just help people feel supported not feel burned out.
And you know the staffing shortage isn't helping either, and but that's not that's not a D21 problem, that's a nationwide problem. Every entity I talk to when they say what are your major challenges they say: staffing shortages. So that's not unique to D21. Everyone has that going on.
But what I can say about the staff of D21 is that I have never seen such camaraderie and seen people so pulled together in an effort to just show up for the kids and support their education every day. It's amazing. It really is. It's amazing. And so, it's just part of what really makes me honored and proud to like to lead this district. It really does.
CG: It sounds like you’re looking to face this problem head on and normalize burn out and find solutions to it. Why do you think burnout is such an issue this year?
CB: Well, I think there's a lot of different things. There's a lot of different factors. I don't think I could pinpoint any single reason. But you have to remember we have some kids now who have never been in school because of the pandemic, and now they are now in second grade.
And some students started kindergarten but then had to go remote. And you have kids that were in fifth grade that missed that whole transition to middle school, and you have middle schoolers who missed the transition to high school.
So, what we're seeing is a high rate of student instability when it comes to adjusting to these social transitions and environmental transitions. And that is rough. That's really hard for everyone. And so, it’s been really challenging. Our staff has had to go back to the basics and just talk about how we act and behave in school before they can even get to the teaching of curriculum.
And that’s just one example. There’s pandemic fatigue, and a lot of things, but it’s been rough for our staff, and I don’t think I can pinpoint just one thing that has lead to this level of burnout. I think it’s an accumulation of things.
But I think everyone is doing the best they can. I think our families are doing the best they can. Our staff are doing the best we can. And I think our kids are doing the best they can.
We’re all trying to do our best, and we’ll just take it one day at a time.
CG: Well, I think that pretty much wraps up the questions that I had. Thank you for your time today.
CB: Thank you.
Enjoying CCCNews D21 Superintendent Update?
Read the first installment to get a bird's eye view of what goes into calling a snow day at the district.
Read the second installment to learn more about Bernal’s listening and leadership strategy as a newcomer to the district, dealing with opposing viewpoints on Covid mandates in schools, the circumstances leading up to the recent firing of an unvaccinated employee.
Read the third installment to learn more about D21 strategic planning, NWASCO D21 goals, renaming Colonel Wright Elementary School, and the Dual Language Immersion Program.
Do you have a question you would like to see included in our next Superintendent Update? Email your question to news@columbiacommunityconnection.com
