My first flight was brutal. Buffalo to South Carolina, and it felt like we were in a crop duster bouncing down a gravel road. But since it was my first flight, I thought, “Well, I guess this is just how flying works.”
Fast forward a few years, and I realize, no, that flight was chaos. But because I didn’t know better, I got used to the turbulence.
That’s exactly what I see happening in school leadership today.
We’ve been conditioned to think the chaos is normal. That constant conflict, dysfunction, and public distrust are just baked into the job. But they’re not. We’ve simply been flying in turbulent air so long that we forgot what smooth looks like.
What’s causing all the chop?
The Governance Gap
The growing disconnect between the Jeffersonian ideals of today’s politicians (local control, distrust of systems) and the Hamiltonian structure of our schools (bureaucratic, centralized, built for a different era) is the governance gap. We’re trying to run 21st-century communities through 20th-century machinery. And the public is done trusting a machine they didn’t build.
So no, turbulence isn’t just “part of the job.” It’s a signal that the job, as we’ve inherited it, needs rethinking.
That’s where reconciliation comes in. Real school leadership isn’t about protecting the institution…it’s about reimagining it. It’s civic leadership. And that means dreaming bigger than your strategic plan and more audaciously than your latest data dashboard.
Reconciliation to me means accepting that we must work through the governance gap and set an example that democracy is worth fighting for and can be improved.
If you want to lead, don’t wait for the turbulence to die down. Do something about it.
Here’s where to start:
1. Build Trust the Old-School Way
Bring the community into your decisions…not as a PR stunt, but as partners.
2. Cut the Bureaucratic Fat
Audit your systems. If it’s not helping kids or teachers, why are you doing it?
3. Ditch Risk Aversion. Embrace Civic Imagination.
Set one bold, long-term goal that says, “This is what schools should be doing.”
4. Be the Democracy You Want to See
Model transparency, shared responsibility, and humility…in how you lead, every day.
5. Bridge Policy and Practice
Create a small team to make state or district mandates actually work at the school level.
6. Open the Doors. Literally.
Host quarterly community nights. Share data. Take questions. Earn trust in real time.
Reconciliation isn’t about compromise…it’s about courage. And school leaders, whether you like it or not, are on the front lines of democracy. Let’s start acting like it!
