Skip to main content
VIRGINIA ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS

COVID-19 Crisis Support for Superintendents Webinar Series


Since Governor Northam's announcement to close public schools for the remainder of the school year, superintendents have been scrambling to interpret numerous state and federal directives and guidelines, make and implement hundreds of decisions, and communicate the decisions to scores of constituents while simultaneously tending to the physical, social and emotional well-being of their students and staff members.   VASS recognizes the need to provide immediate support to our members, so we are providing a series of webinars that will help you to address the problems that you are encountering.  

The first offering in the COVID-19 Crisis Support for Superintendents Virtual Meeting Series, sponsored by VASS, Virginia Ed Strategies, and the Commonwealth Learning Partnership, was held on Tuesday, April 14, 4:00-5:00pm.

"Situation Fluid: Adaptive Leadership During the COVID-19 Crisis” provided over 60 VASS members with the opportunity to discuss various challenges and share solutions to issues they have encountered over the past few weeks. After brief remarks by a panel of the four VASS Officers, participants moved into small breakout rooms to further discuss topics of interest, such as adjusting budgets, continuing learning for all students, working with local governing boards, and communicating with parents and the community at large.

The following three webinars are being offered:

Thursday, April 30, 2:00 – 3:00 pm: "What Mentally Strong People Do During a Pandemic"

Focused on how school division leaders can support the social-emotional needs of staff, students, parents, and community stakeholders during and after the COVID-19 crisis.

Dr. Gregg Henriques, a licensed clinical psychologist and Professor of Graduate Psychology at James Madison University, and Jennifer Stevens, President & CEO of Virginia Ed Strategies, guided participants in considering the ways "mentally strong" individuals reduce stress and anxiety during a crisis and thus lessen the long-term effects of trauma on their mental health. A panel of superintendents shared examples of actions they have taken to make social emotional needs a priority in the midst of all the other challenges faced at this time and meeting attendees broke into small groups to explore the topic further.

Wednesday, May 6, 4:00 – 5:30 pm: "Planning for the Unknown: Essential Questions and Dialogue for Leadership”

This virtual meeting is an opportunity for superintendents and key instructional leaders to provide the R2F Recovery TF with input on key questions in each of the five areas of the Task Force Planning Framework as well as to share ideas and discuss other issues concerning the continuation of education during the COVID19 Crisis.   The virtual meeting, hosted by VASS and the Commonwealth Learning Partnership, will be facilitated by VDOE Recovery Task Force members and  Virginia Continuing Learning Task Force members: Gena Keller, Director of the Commonwealth Learning Partnership; Tina Manglicmot, VA DOE Director of STEM and Innovation; Pam Moran, Executive Director of the Virginia School Consortium for Learning; and Laurie McCullough, Executive Director of the Virginia Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development; and Amy Colley, Executive Director of the William & Mary School University Resource Network.

Wednesday, May 13, TBA: “Considerations and Resources for Planning Your Budget”

This virtual meeting will provide superintendents with a historical perspective to address their current budgets by reviewing local and state budgetary issues during the 2008 Recession.  Superintendents and School Business Officials will be provided with revenue and expenditure data and trends on their specific school division budgets since the Great Recession.

We hope that these Virtual Meetings will be helpful as superintendents navigate the uncertainty of the days and months ahead.