We are New Leaders: How Five New Leaders Alumni and School Principals Are Leading Through This Crisis

“We are being very thoughtful and intentional about how we’re instilling moments of joy … answering the calls for mental health … and reminding everyone that we will get through this together,” states Rictor Craig, co-founder and Principal, Statesmen College Preparatory Academy for Boys PCS in  Washington, D.C. “The well-being of our community is the priority. Nothing takes precedence over that.”

School leaders across the country are facing urgent and unprecedented challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic is requiring them to redesign their roles and re-envision how to care for their school communities beyond a building and a central place of learning. “The well-being of our community is the priority. Nothing takes precedence over that.”

Watch five New Leaders alumni and principals speak to how they are answering the call to lead at this moment. From providing social-emotional support to families in the hardest hit ZIP codes to creating systems to track each and every student. Rolling out virtual learning platforms to recreating missed senior moments. Sharing in the anxiety of not knowing how long this crisis will last to closing out this school year with plans to start even stronger in August.

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Each of these school leaders is a source of inspiration. And, we thank them.