School leaders must stop myopically thinking of themselves solely as instructional leaders. Instructional leadership at the Cabinet level is dead. That mindset is too narrow for the moment. We need to embrace a new frame…civic leadership.
Civic leadership means recognizing that our role is not just to manage curriculum or improve test scores. It means understanding that we are one of the last visible examples of what a functional, effective democratic institution can look like.
This shift requires us to get out of the silo of education and into the life of the community. It means recognizing that leading a school district is a civic duty tied to the health of the community. It may also mean embracing adaptive leadership, trusting those we’ve hired to lead instruction while we take on the bigger challenge of reweaving the civic fabric.
Civic leadership is how we lead through the governance gap. It’s how we reconcile the tension between institutional systems and public distrust. And it might just be how we rebuild the kind of trust that makes democracy work.
School leaders are faced with a governing challenge unmatched in American history. Recognizing the governance gap, and the necessary steps to lead through it, will do more than save individual superintendent’s jobs. It will lead to a resilient, responsive public education system.
