College Student Retention: Academic Preparation and Institutional Fit

For this blog, I want to jump back to my years in college student development. As a dean of student life, I focused on retention. Many internal and external factors impact retention, but two of the most powerful, in my experience, are: 

1. Academic Preparation -- How well a student is prepared academically to meet the rigor of the specific college.
2. Institutional Fit -- How closely does the student fit the institutional mission and culture of the specific college.

In theory, if a student is prepared well academically AND agrees with the mission/culture of the college, he/she will be retained and progress toward graduation. Admissions and student development staff need to work together to improve retention and should focus on these two areas. Admissions staff members should be looking for these two elements as they recruit students, and student development staff needs to be implementing support and activities to grow these qualities.

Academic Preparation

Academics is the primary reason that colleges exist, and each college has a different level of academic rigor. In the admissions process, colleges evaluate the data to identify students with an academic preparation that aligns with its level of rigor. Logically, the colleges and universities with high academic rigor are looking for students who are well prepared academically, and vice versa. While we can debate the validity of these data points, college admissions committees still use the objective data of high school grade point average, class rank, and standardized test scores to evaluate a student's academic preparation. 

If students are not prepared in such a way to align with the academic rigor of the institution, they are going to have an academically frustrating college experience and, ultimately, will be at risk of leaving the institution. While admissions teams are always looking for students who are academically prepared, there are times (especially when enrollment numbers are down) when students are admitted who are not as prepared as they should be academically. Identifying these "at risk" students early (using admissions data) and putting academic interventions in place can help to support these students well, reduce academic frustration, and increase the likelihood of retention. 

Institutional Fit

In the business world, "culture eats strategy for breakfast" (Drucker 2013). Likewise, in the world of college student retention, "institutional fit" eats other retention factors for breakfast. If a student believes in the mission of the college, embraces how that mission is lived out, and is a "raving fan" of the college, they are going to fight to overcome the other retention obstacles that he may encounter.  

Institutional fit can also include an academic side to retention. Students need to be prepared to exert the expected academic effort in and out of the classroom. Unfortunately, whether they are academically prepared or not, some students don't want to work hard in college and will likely face a rude awakening ... do I stay and work hard or transfer to an easier college? Institutional fit also includes programming. Many students transfer because the college does not offer a desired major; even if a student is a raving fan in all other areas of the institution, she may be a retention risk due to programming. 

I am most familiar with small, Christian colleges that have distinct mission statements, aligned with theological and philosophical worldviews. If a student doesn't fit with the theological or worldview perspectives of these institutions, he will become frustrated with faith or lifestyle expectations, and, ultimately, will be at risk of leaving the institution. Additionally, small Christian colleges, also, may not be able to offer all the majors and programs that a large university can, thus, impacting retention.

Of course, colleges understand the importance of institutional fit as it pertains to student retention, and they have entire departments dedicated to strengthening institutional fit and creating raving fans through new student orientation, fun social activities, and student development programs. However, these are usually not student specific. It is essential for student development staff to identify any student who doesn't fit with the college and implement intervention strategies to help strengthen this important element.

Categorizing Students

While not everything about retention can be put into a graph, I like using a quadrant graph to help categorize students based on these two important factors. A quadrant graph allows the staff to specifically identify each student and subsequently implement intervention strategies to help the student. Each student would be ranked in academic preparation (x axis) and institutional fit (y axis); both would use a 0 (low) to 10 (high) scale.

 The graph would identify those students who fit into the different categories below:

Ideal Students -- Quadrant A (top right) 

• These students are well prepared academically and believe strongly in the mission of the institution. 

Fit Students -- Quadrant B (top left)

• These students fit the institution well (and may even be your raving fans), but they need academic support to be successful.

Prepared Students -- Quadrant C (bottom right)

• These students are very well prepared academically, but they don't fully embrace the mission of the institution.

At Risk Students -- Quadrant D (bottom left)

• These students are not prepared academically AND they don't fully embrace the mission of the institution.

Using the Data 

Identifying these students is an important start to creating an action plan. In the graph below, the following students are ranked and placed into the four categories.

Ideal Students -- JK (9,9), HI (8,8)

Fit Students -- BC (4,8), AB (1,7), CD (2,6)

Prepared Students -- FG (7,4), IJ (7,2), EF (9,2)

At-Risk Students -- DE (3,2), GH (1,2)

Clearly, the main goal is to increase your number of Ideal Students (quadrant A). This can be done through the admissions process by rejecting applicants with lower gpa/test scores or those applicants who do not fit the mission of the college, but many college admissions offices are not in a position to take this step in a drastic way. 

Increasing the number of Ideal Students can also be done through interventions. 

Ideal Students - Quad A

Don't forget about these students -- the worst thing that could happen would be to lose these students! Celebrate and invest in them! Often these students received scholarships and positions of leadership; use them and rely on them to both promote the academic rigor and to be the "raving fans" for the college. Utilize them for campus visit days as hosts and ambassadors to recruit new students (and pay them). Invite them to be a part of special lectures, field experiences, research teams, or trips.

Fit Students (but not prepared) - Quad B

Invest significantly in the academic support of these students; they are your "raving fans" and will help to promote the college to others. Use peer tutors from your Ideal Students and your Prepared Students to reduce the academic frustration that these students may feel. If identified early enough as needing academic support, offer a free class to them in the summer to help boost their academic preparation. Connect them early with your most supportive professor / academic advisor and support, support, support.

Prepared Students (but not fit) - Quad C

Although these students may be the top of the class academically, they are not (yet) loyal fans of your college. They may not agree with your theological or philosophical worldview and lifestyle expectations ... and they are smart. It is going to be more difficult to retain your Prepared Students than your Fit Students because they tend to have a perspective that they can "take their academic abilities elsewhere"; therefore, it is vital to get them to embrace who you are as an institution. Provide a summer reading or orientation session that dives deeply into the fabric of your institution, and give them time to ask questions. Connect them early with "raving fans," those professors, student development staff, students (Quad A&B) who truly live and breath the mission of the institution. Invest in these students as they will shine academically for you if you can turn them into raving fans!

At-Risk Students - Quad D

Unfortunately, these students have to move significantly in both academic preparation and institutional fit to become an Ideal Student. Now, any movement will help them be less of a retention risk, but the investment still might not result in these students making it to graduation. With unlimited funds, a college can invest deeply into these students in both the institutional fit and academic areas, including individual tutors, peer mentors and a ton of human/time resources. While every student is a valuable part of the community, students who are not academically prepared or are not a good fit for your institution may become culture killers and detract (rather than attract) future Ideal Student. Be careful, especially if the percentage of at-risk students on campus begins to approach a tipping point (20-25%). Watching this percentage is also an important reason for putting students on a graphing.

In order to increase the number of Ideal Students on campus, colleges must start with an admissions staff with a laser focus on what academic preparation and institutional fit means for their specific college ... followed by ranking them on these two factors. Finally, the student development staff must implement interventions specifically designed to move students into the Ideal Student quadrant. 

Each college will have unique interventions that are effective for their context, but hopefully this provides a framework to improve college student retention.

COVID-19: Lessons Learned 4

If you are not learning through the COVID-19 pandemic, you are missing out! You are missing out on what God wants you to learn.

As a Christian, I believe in God's sovereignty and that everything happens for a reason, for God's reason. God especially uses difficult times to teach us important lessons. However, you need to be attentive to learn the lesson ... if you don't pay attention you might miss what God wants you to learn. 

This is true in the pandemic that we are experiencing currently. 

During the last few months I've tried to be intentional and reflective on what I should be learning during this unusual time. In this mini-series of blogs on COVID-19, I wanted to document lessons that I've learned.

Before finishing this mini-series, I want to point back to some of the topics I've covered previously, and I encourage you to re-read some of these and reflect on your own learning during COVID-19.

• Lessons Learned 1 -- Loving, Pivoting, Persevering
• Lessons Learned 2 -- Lead with Humility, Use Data to Make Decisions, Lead with Confidence
• Lessons Learned 3 -- People Need People, Serve Where You are Stuck

The fourth and final blog in this mini-series will look at 1) Obeying Authorities, 2) Positively Problem-Solve, and 3) Leading Out of a Crisis. 

Obeying Authorities

One of the more challenging lessons to learn is to obey authorities during the pandemic. In our politically divisive country as we deal with a novel pandemic, criticism of authority figures and health organizations is rampant. It seems like every social media platform is filled with individuals ranting about how one politician's decision was wrong and how they would do it different (and better). Unfortunately, our trust in our authority figures has deteriorated. While I am sure that each governor is receiving advice from the top medical professionals in the state health department and making his/her decisions based on that advice, six-pack Joe knows better because he saw an article on social media.

Unfortunately, conservative Christians have led many of the objections to the quarantine regulations. It is quite clear from scripture that we (especially those who believe in the Bible) should obey our God-ordained authorities ... re-read Romans 13. Of course, the exception comes when an authority figure requires us to do something that goes against one of God's commands (e.g. worshiping an idol, like Daniel and his friends in Daniel 3); however, I don't think wearing a mask falls under that category.  Christians, especially, should be leading the way in obeying the regulations set in place and praying for our authority figures (I Timothy 2:1-3). Sadly, that is not happening.

I lament the low level of respect that our society has for our leaders, but when adults are modeling to their children a disregard for a leader's decision, I am convinced respect for leaders will continue to decline over the next generation. What a difference if a parent were to say (in word and action) to their children, "I disagree with the the governor's decision, but I respect the authority that he/she has been given by God, so I am going to comply with this regulation." AND what a different message we would be communicating to the next generation if they saw us praying for our leaders more often than complaining about our leaders. This is difficult for me, but it is more God-honoring than my usual response.

                                            

Positively Problem-Solve

There are two types of people in a pandemic ... those who complain and those who work on a solution.  Essentially, this blog mini-series is an attempt to keep us positive and looking for a silver lining. What can we learn from this pandemic? How can we grow through this experience? 

There are two types of people in life ... those who complain and those who stay positive and problem solve. The majority of people are naturally bent toward the negative, and those are the people who are going to struggle the most through difficulties in life. I am guilty of this ... it is so easy to complain and criticize, and it is so difficult to work on solving a problem. However, if you can positively problem-solve, you are going to "win" in the future.

A 21st Century skill is problem SOLVING not problem IDENTIFYING. It doesn't take much effort to point out a problem, but the real work goes into solving it. Our ever-changing world presents us with a new "problem" every single day, and we have a choice: we can complain and quit or we can positively problem-solve. During a situation like the pandemic, true leaders will step up, present a solution, and work to implement it. These are the ones who will lead out of a crisis.

Leading Out of a Crisis

During the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent quarantine, examples of those problem-solving and leading out of the crisis were prevalent and easily distinguishable. Some school districts / schools / teachers completely shut down because it was too hard and the problem seemed insurmountable; other schools pivoted to e-learning quickly, trained teachers in online platforms/online teaching, and solved access problems by delivering laptops to students in need. Some restaurants completely shut down as they were not able to see a different way to serve food; other restaurants shifted to online orders, delivery systems, and drive-through options (I think Chick-Fil-A is busier than ever ... without a dining room option). Costco, Wal-Mart, Dollar Store, and Dominoes were adding employees during the pandemic, with Amazon hiring over 100,000 new employees, while many of their competitors were furloughing employees or shuttering their doors during the pandemic (see article). I understand that there are many factors for this and these companies have institutional strength to sustain their businesses during a pandemic, but they also addressed the problem head-on. The companies that problem-solved quickly were able to re-think how to do their work in a new normal and survived (even thrived) while those who didn't change are closing their doors. Many of the companies that adjusted will look differently after the pandemic subsides, and they will lead their respective industries.

Let me share specifically about my school, Denver Christian School, and how we are leading out of a crisis. Not only did our school shift quickly to e-learning, distributed laptops to increase access to those students/families in need, train teachers on Zoom / online teaching, and continue to tweak and adjust through this new mode of education, we invested in order to lead out of this crisis. We quickly looked at ways to deliver our excellent education in a responsive way to whatever our future holds. During the spring, we invested in document cameras for our teachers to enhance their e-learning experience and will be able to utilize these tools in the fall. This summer, we are upgrading to a more robust learning management system (LMS) to help students learn better both in a classroom setting and remotely (Canvas). We added robotic cameras into our classrooms (Swivl) to live-stream classroom lessons for students who are sick and/or need to miss school. Finally, we further developed our relationships with online schools to expand our class offerings, even in the midst of uncertainty. In addition to improving how we "do school," we developed multiple extensive plans to re-open in the fall no matter what restrictions are placed on us. All of these improvements were possible because of our staff (led by an administrative team) with a growth mindset and an entrepreneurial spirit. We will look differently as a school in the future, but I am confident that we will  remain on the leading edge of education in our metro area and state.

Although I think that this 4-part mini-series is done, I'm sure that I will continue to learn as our communities and country puts COVID-19 in our rear-view mirror. However, one thing is certain, something on the horizon will "rock our world."  It is my hope that you continue to learn through whatever life experiences that you face.

Adolescent Development: Identity

The most significant aspect of adolescent development is identity; in fact, the developmental psychologist Erickson named his adolescent stage "Identity vs. Role Confusion." Erickson's stage theories focus on healthy versus unhealthy development, so the title of his adolescent stage implies that the healthy development of teens has a strong sense of identity and teens developing in an unhealthy manner are confused with their "role" or who they are in this world. Essentially, Erickson is saying that teens who are developing in a healthy way leave this stage with an "identity."  Isn't this what we desire for our teenagers?

From nearly 30 years working with adolescents, I wholeheartedly agree with this stage theory. Teenagers who are thriving in life are those with a confidence in their identity, i.e., who they are, where they belong, how they fit into the community.  They have an identity. 

Role Confusion and Negative Factors

The opposite is also true: teenagers who are struggling in life or who are not developing in a healthy manner are ones who don't have a confident sense of who they are, where they belong, and how they fit into the community. They have role confusion.

Psychologists and sociologists today are using the phrase "diseases of despair" (and ultimately "deaths of despair") to describe individuals (especially teenagers) who are struggling with alcohol and drug use/abuse/addiction and depression. These "deaths of despair" (especially among teens) have led to the national average age of mortality to drop over the past 3 years; contributing to that mortality rate is teen suicide and alcohol/drug overdoses or accidental deaths. While the factors leading to these "diseases of despair" are multi-faceted and complex, identity (or more accurately role confusion) is at the core of this epidemic of despair, especially during adolescence.

Teenagers today struggle with identity because of a variety of negative societal factors like family dysfunction, social media, our selfie culture, hyper-sexualized and unrealistic portrayals of beauty, parental pressures of success, culture of degrading humor and language, unchecked technology usage, and access to alcohol, marijuana, and drug. Each of these factors can be extrapolated to explain our current ethos of despair among teenagers. However, these negative factors can be overcome by positive and intentional identity development.

Who am I?

Adolescents have a deep desire to answer the question of "who am I?" Rather than focusing on the negative factors, parents and educators, in order to truly help teenagers develop their identity, must focus on the following positive areas: Strengths and Interdependence.

Strengths

One of my favorite units to teach in developmental psychology (at the high school level) is on strengths. Demonstrating their desire (and need) for identity, my students are fully engaged in learning about their personalities, strengths, and God-given gifts. Through this unit, students are able to identify and ultimately celebrate their strengths. The students begin by taking a number of different assessment tools, like CliftonStrengths for Students (minimal cost) or Values in Action Character Strengths (free), to find their strengths. In addition to identifying strengths, both of these instruments provide a plethora of resources to define and develop these character strengths. Of course, other tools can identify personality types (e.g. Myers Briggs or Enneagram), career/interests (e.g. Strong Interest Inventory), and spiritual gifts (e.g. SHAPE). Each of these tools can be used to help students get a clearer sense of who they are, but the important part is to challenge teenagers to exercise their gifts. The focus must always be on application: learning about, using, and developing their gifts/personality into strengths. Gifts and talents are not developed into strengths without effort.

Gifts + Effort/Application = Strengths

Working at a Christian school, I use Christ's parable of the talents to encourage and show the importance of using (not burying) the gifts they've been given (Matthew 25:14-30). I also tie the strengths unit into the biblical metaphor of the body of Christ (I Cor 12, Romans 12). This metaphor, primarily discussed by Paul, is a powerful picture of how each person is given unique gifts to be an essential part of the body; in order for the entire body to function well, each individual part must be developed in a healthy way and activated to serve the rest of the body. This leads to the next identity area: interdependence. 

Interdependence 

Like adolescence itself, the concept of interdependence sits beautifully between dependency and being independent. Clearly dependency has a negative connotation in our society; however, the American idol of independence also has a deleterious impact on adolescent development. It is healthy for teenagers to simultaneously rely on others and be needed by others, i.e., interdependence. Genuine community is wedded to interdependence, and teenagers need both for healthy identity development.

Important questions of identity are "where do I belong" and "how do I fit within a community." Both of these questions can only be answered within a community ... and can only happen if an individual believes he/she needs a community and, reciprocally, believes the community needs him/her. Helping students find and foster community should be a high priority for educators, parents, and youth pastors who desire healthy identity development.

Cultural and technological factors make this difficult. From an early age, children are celebrated for being independent; while this encourages a healthy transition to the next stage, our society implicitly communicates that we don't need to be in community. Technology exacerbates this. Our phones (an easy target, I know) are isolating and empowering (e.g. you don't have to ask a grandparent what it was like 50 years ago, you just "google" it); this finger tip knowledge promotes independence, but destroys any need for interdependence or community. This translates to teenagers not needing others and, most damaging to adolescent development, to the realization that they are not needed by others. 

Unfortunately, our interdependent community-enhancing groups (e.g. family, church, friends) are in decline. Families are broken, unconnected and not multi-generational; teens don't attend church (or if they do, it is not multi-generational or deeply relational); and friendships are fostered digitally which keeps them superficial. Additionally, teenage groups are temporary and performance-driven. They connect for a semester with classmates or a sport season with teammates, rather than having lifelong friends. This is also true for extended family; most teenagers are connected to their household family but disconnected from their extended family. Many families don't get together for Sunday dinner or reunions due to busy schedules or the lack of desire to work through dysfunctional relationships. Finally, churches separate teenagers from the rest of the congregation which sends a message that "we don't need you and you don't need us." These traditional pillars of identity development are letting teenagers down.

How do we reverse this trend? One way is to rethink and redesign church, family, and friendships with adolescent identity development in mind. Another way is to build additional interdependent communities, where teenagers feel needed. One of the most therapeutic, life-giving statements for anyone to hear (but especially for teenagers) is "I need your help." How can we build intentional community groups that genuinely say to teenagers, both explicitly and implicitly, "we need you." That powerful message will encourage healthy interdependence, and ultimately, identity. 

Identity is such an important part of healthy adolescent development that intentional actions need to be taken to help teenagers answer the questions of "who am I?" and "where do I belong?"  Hopefully, those individuals placed in the lives of teenagers can speak truth into their lives and encourage positive identity development during the adolescent years.  

COVID-19: Lessons Learned 3

As I reflect on educational "leading and learning" for this blog, I can't help but focus on loss ... the loss of spring events for high school students, like prom, theater productions, athletic seasons, and graduation. Additionally, I can't help but think of the "road not taken" and wonder, along with Robert Frost, how our choices have "made all the difference." Unfortunately, in this situation, we can't take both roads or live regretfully thinking about the "road not taken."  We must continue to lead and learn through this time.

Although we can debate the actions taken by our leaders, we can all agree that the virus and the subsequent "solutions" have negatively impacted our society. I have especially been reflecting on how the extended "stay at home" directives have impacted our social-emotional development and mental health, especially for our students. 

My previous two posts focused on the learning for students and leaders; this post deals with social-emotional health. 

If you look up some of the symptoms of depression, most people have felt some or all of those symptoms during this extended quarantine ... here are the ones I've felt.

• Feeling of sadness, loss, emptiness, hopelessness
• Irritability or frustration over minor things
• Sleep disturbances like insomnia or sleeping too much
• Tiredness, lack of energy, and a lack of motivation
• Eating challenges, like reduced appetite/loss of weight or eating too much/weight gain
• Heightened anxiety and worry
• Trouble thinking, concentrating, or remembering things
• Physical pains, like back pain or headaches. 

Recognizing the impact that the quarantine has had on your social-emotional health is an important first step, then take steps to counter each of these areas. Some simple (but not always easy) actions to take are 1) healthy eating, 2) regular sleep patterns, 3) exercise. 

Each of these strategies helps maintain a balance in brain chemicals (like dopamine and serotonin) that regulate our emotions. So that is a good start, but what else can we do to improve our social-emotional health during a pandemic?

People Need People (and Relationships take Work)

Quite simply, we are created for community and when extended family, friends, and our greater community is taken away from us, our social-emotional health tanks leading to depression. One would think that this is especially true for extroverts, those who gain energy and "fill their bucket" by spending time with others, but (I can attest) introverts are also impacted by the extended quarantine.

Realize that "people need people" and relationships, especially during this time, take a great deal of work. During a quarantine, seeing friends at school or church are not happening naturally, so we all need to be intentional in maintaining and growing relationships (outside of your house). Even if you have to do this virtually, continue to check in with your social circles. Set regular patterns of communication that you and your friends can count on (e.g. call grandparents every other day; set a regular time to video game with friends); use this time to laugh, catch up, and just hang out. 

Although it is important to follow laws and guidelines for social distancing during the pandemic, it is also important to creatively find ways to "see" your friends, extended family, and neighbors. Throughout the quarantine, the best news stories have been where individuals find creative ways to see their friends or family: teachers "parading" to visit their students, grandchildren giving kisses to their grandparents through glass windows, and friends meeting to watch a sunset (each in their own cars). Continue to creatively uncover ways to connect with others during this time.

Whether you are an extrovert or an introvert, communicating and seeing friends will fill your bucket. Connecting with your friends is hard work during a quarantine, but what a great life lesson to learn during this time: relationships are important and they take work. Don't forget that one!

Serve where you are Stuck 

You've heard the expression, "bloom where you are planted"; well, a similar sentiment during this time is to "serve where you are stuck." Although you may feel stuck at home, look for ways to serve your family. Instead of focusing of being quarantined and the loss that you are experiencing, look for new opportunities to help out at home. Service projects help you feel better emotionally.  This is called a "helper high", essentially endorphins are released in your body when you help someone else, making you feel better.

Look around you and serve where you are stuck. Service at home should start with simply keeping up with your daily chores like cleaning your room, picking up after yourself, and making your bed; however, those probably feel more like obligations and actions you are doing for yourself. In order to achieve the "helper high," look for ways to help other members of your family: cook a family dinner, make a special coffee drink, vacuum an extra room, or wash the family car. Spring is also a great time to work in the yard or do some "spring cleaning." Be creative in finding ways to help and serve your family. 

This is a powerful life lesson: serve where you are stuck. Unfortunately, you will have times in your life where your circumstance will make you feel "stuck." Instead of focusing on your "stuck-ness," consider ways to serve those in your environment. Your service will both help those you are serving and help you feel better too.

As we look to re-opening our society, don't waste the lessons we've learned.

COVID-19: Lessons Learned 2

Leaders across the globe have been challenged during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been fascinating to observe how individuals, organizations, and governments have responded to this crisis.Those with a qualitative research mind (like me) can see where case studies, phenomenological studies, or grounded theory research will come out of this season.The complexity of factors, novelty of the phenomenon, and the multi-faceted impact of decisions has made this situation a prime laboratory to learn about leadership.

I have been captivated by the decisions made at all levels, the process of decision making, and the diverse reactions. If you are a fan of "leading and learning," you probably are also very intrigued by the leadership scenarios unfolding every single day.

When leaders are faced with a crisis that they dealt with before (e.g. financial downturn, reduction of staff, breach of contract), they can rely on their experience to make the best decision. However, very few current leaders have any experience with a global pandemic. Even experienced leaders are at a loss (at least initially) to what is the proper path forward and how to lead through this crisis. From the president of the United States, to local mayors, to company owners, to school administrators, leaders are scratching their heads wondering what to do.

So what can we learn about leadership through this pandemic? How are effective leaders responding, and what are they doing?

Here are a few concepts to follow in order to lead effectively through a crisis ...

Lead with Humility

While I would argue that humility is a characteristic that effective leaders should always embody, humility doesn't make the top five (or even top ten) characteristics that people typically look for in a leader. For example, our POTUS is the antithesis of humility, and many political leaders align closer to arrogance than humility. However, even those who are not known for humility personally can lead with humility by doing some of the following things (examples will be from education during a pandemic).

• Call upon and listen to experts -- e.g. school leaders should seek input from their local department of public health, doctors, district school leaders, and legal counsel before making decisions.
• Seek advice from those in similar positions (different environments) -- e.g. all high school principals in the area discussing how to host graduation to end the school year well. 
• Avoid the "echo chamber" by getting differing opinions -- e.g. specifically seek out schools that are planning or are doing things differently and ask why; carefully listen to the "minority report" within your staff.
• Conduct tabletop scenario discussions with staff and stakeholders -- e.g. talk through best and worst case scenarios with your educational team, students, and parents before making any decisions.
• Be willing to pivot in light of new information -- e.g. after collecting more information, be willing to admit you were wrong and change the plan. 

By acting with humility, leaders will explore a wide range of scenarios, hear a variety of opinions, work collaboratively, and change course if needed through a crisis. 

Use Data to Make Decisions

Leaders must make data-driven decisions during times of uncertainty. When facing a new crisis (like a pandemic) with high stakes potential results, the situation will be accompanied by emotional and political forces. Outside experts should provide the data, and leaders must lean into this objective data as much as possible to make decisions. Emotional reactions rarely lead to good decisions for the organization, and, in fact, often cause sleepless nights and anxiety for the leader. In an uncertain situation like we are currently facing, every decision will be criticized, but it is important for leaders to know that they are making the best decision with the most complete information that is in front of them. 

Educational leaders understand this concept, as data is frequently used to make curriculum, budget, admissions, and staffing decisions in schools. The science of teaching encourages school leaders to seek out data, to use assessment intentionally, and to make objective decisions. Educational leaders during a crisis need to rely on these assessment skills.

Lead with Confidence

While this seems contrary to "lead with humility," confident (not rash) decision making is an important part of being an effective leader through a crisis. Once a leader has actively sought out advice from others and assessed the data, he/she needs to make a decision. If those being led have confidence that a leader has acted with humility and carefully considered the data, they will trust that the decision being made was the best possible one given the situation. The contrary is, of course, true; if a leader makes a rash decision without consulting others or considering the data, he/she will lose the trust of those being led.

The diversity of school leaders is probably a wider spectrum than most other industries. Educational leaders come with a wide variety of personalities and leadership styles, but, if they want to be effective, they all need to make tough decisions. School administrators are used to working collaboratively, evaluating data, and making difficult decisions; they are also used to dealing with harsh criticism / unhappy stakeholders. In fact they are more prepared than most to lead through a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.


I do trust our national, state, and local leaders and, for the most part, believe that they are acting with humility to take advice from experts, assess the data, and make the best decision from all that they know at this point. Our leaders are in my daily prayers ... I pray for God to give them wisdom, courage, energy, and humility.

I do not have all the facts, and I have not listened to all the experts, so I would not want to second guess any decisions made by our national, state, and local leaders. My only concern surrounds my first point ... humility.

Unfortunately, due to character flaws and the political landscape, I question if our government leaders (at all levels) have the integrity to admit when they are wrong. With all the new information (from local and global data) and a wide spectrum of models being tried in other countries and communities, I would be shocked if we developed the perfect plan from the start. However, I haven't seen many of our political leaders admit that they were wrong and drastically change the plan. This surprises me because we've never experienced a pandemic like this before and the issues are so complex that nobody would've anticipated them when we started dealing with this crisis.

Leading in uncharted waters demands humility, a willingness to admit they are wrong, and pivoting to a new course ... I haven't seen it yet, but I am still hopeful.

Pray for your leaders, obey your leaders, and keep learning through this pandemic.


The first blog in this series focuses on student learning during a pandemic: loving, pivoting, persevering.

• https://eduleadinglearning.blogspot.com/2020/04/lessons-learned-during-pandemic.html

COVID-19: Lessons Learned

We learn most deeply and our character is shaped most profoundly through difficulty. While distance is needed to fully realize this hard truth, I wonder what we are learning individually and as a community during the COVID-19 global pandemic. 

In reflection, I am reminded of James' challenging encouragement to "consider it pure joy ... whenever you face trials of many kinds" as this leads to perseverance (James 1:2-3). Paul also reiterates this in Romans when he uses a gradatio (or marching figure) to emphasize the growth in character that suffering facilitates: "suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope" (Romans 5:3-4). I am also reminded of Ben Franklin's quip: "What hurts, instructs."

When specific suffering happens to an individual, the lesson learned is often limited to that person and those directly observing the phenomenon. However, the life of a community often continues unaffected. For example, a death of a parent deeply impacts the children and the immediate family, but after the funeral, the extended community continues as before the tragedy. However, when suffering happens on a larger scale, to a local or global community, the lessons learned can impact and reshape both individuals and a community. For example, the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, impacted both individuals and altered how we operate as a society.

The COVID-19 pandemic will impact individuals and our global society. We will learn so many lessons through this time; here are a few that come to mind.

1. Loving

The first lesson, for both individuals and our community, is a sacrificial (albeit sometimes forced) other-centrism, an actively loving of our neighbors. We are asked/required by our national and local leaders to sacrifice individual/societal freedoms and financial health to benefit others. This includes mandates on social distancing, isolation, and protective gear, but also includes shuttering businesses ... all to "flatten the curve" and protect others. Yes, we are also protecting ourselves, but the primary purpose is to protect others.

This is unusual and unprecedented. In previous outbreaks, the sick or at-risk are quarantined while the healthy continue life as normal. During this pandemic, the healthy are asked to self-quarantine to protect those who are at-risk. It is an active love of neighbor to sacrifice your own freedoms to protect others (even if much of this is forced).

"Good News" examples of individuals actively loving their neighbors is also occurring within our communities: neighbors are offering to get groceries for the elderly, families are writing messages of hope with sidewalk chalk, and individuals are donating money to help the un- or under-employed. Through the suffering of the pandemic, many individuals are setting aside their selfishness and are sacrificing for others.

We live in an ego-centric, selfish society that is so entirely counter to Christ's second greatest commandment to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Mt. 22:39). What an important individual and communal lesson to learn! It is my prayer that we, as individuals and as a nation, will hold on to the lesson of actively loving our neighbors after the pandemic is over, even when it means self-sacrifice.

2. Pivoting 

An important life lesson that is being "taught" to everyone during this pandemic is the need to adjust to external factors in order to flourish. While many students are learning this lesson (especially on this scale) for the first time, this is a lesson that most adults have already been taught (not necessarily learned) in the workplace.

In order to thrive in this world, individuals must be able to pivot ... adapt, adjust, and finish well. When faced with an external challenge that is beyond one's control, everyone has a choice: he/she can quit and give up or figure out a way around the obstacle and finish the project. Although not on the scale of a global pandemic, there are a plethora of examples: a new supervisor changes the direction of a project, a company consolidation/down-sizing eliminates a position, or a revenue stream dries up. In each of these examples, individuals and companies (if they want to survive) need to adjust, adapt, and innovate through this change. Unfortunately, many individuals and organizations have not learned this lesson and an external crisis ruins them.

Hopefully, students (especially) learn this lesson for their future. This pandemic would ideally lead to a generation of innovators and intrapreneurs who are able to adapt quickly and effectively to change. Our dynamic and quickly changing world needs this more than ever.  Through this pandemic "crucible," educators are already seeing those students who have both struggled and flourished. Current students who learn this lesson well during this time will be the future leaders of culture and industry.

3. Persevering

One of the criticisms of the Millennial and Z generations is their lack of perseverance and grit. While they (stereo-typically) are passionate, that fire quickly dies out in the face of adversity. Returning to scripture, both James and Paul (in Romans) state that suffering produces perseverance. God knows how important perseverance is because He also knows how hard living in a broken world can be; thus, He uses suffering (even the COVID-19) to build in us the characteristic of grit.

Scripture is supported by research as perseverance (aka grit) has been the topic of recent sociological studies (Duckworth, et al. 2007) and connecting this characteristic to flourishing as a human being (Duckworth, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, 2016). Essentially, individuals with grit flourish in our world.

We see this lesson in the educational sphere during this time. We often point to students who need to grow in grit, but a full spectrum of gritty-ness can be seen at the institutional and educator level. Some schools and teachers have essentially shut down learning in the midst of this crisis while others have persevered and even flourished. This, of course, trickles down to the students and the lessons that they are learning (or not learning) during this time. If you are in a school (like I am) that embodies perseverance, count yourself blessed ... you and your students are learning an important, God-ordained lesson during this time.

God wants us to persevere through suffering and to grow in our gritty-ness through this crisis. As a human, I don't like this tactic that God uses to grow me, but I know He is preparing me for future situations as I live in the "already but not yet" time awaiting Christ's return.


We are all learning a ton of lessons during this time; it is my hope that we come out the other side of this pandemic much improved, as individuals and as a society. That we learn to love, pivot, and persevere to flourish in tomorrow's world.

Stay tuned for more lessons as this pandemic continues.