It's Election Day in America, and while much of the citizenry is in the throes of nail-biting, nerve-shredding, heat-map- induced anxiety, this might just be the most relaxing 24 hours Jamie Wilson ('91, '99 M.Ed., '12 Ed.D.) has had in roughly eight months. Denton ISD is shuttered since many of its schools are designated polling locations, meaning the 2020 Region 11 Superintendent of the Year's calendar finally boasts a few blank spots.

He knows the respite won't last long.

"It's been 24/7," says Wilson, who eight years ago assumed the reins as the district's top administrator. "Our leadership team, principals and teachers have worked harder than we've ever worked before."

Ever since COVID-19 forced Denton ISD to close its doors in March 2020 -- along with virtually every other K-12 and higher education institution in the U.S. -- it's been a breakneck effort on all fronts to solve the jigsaw puzzle created by that seemingly no-win situation. Educators are trained to guide students to the right answers, but the questions introduced by an ever-worsening pandemic tested even the most seasoned problem solvers.

How do we provide equitable access to technology? Protect the physical and emotional well-being of students? Reopen our campuses safely? Avoid instructor burnout? Prevent our students from falling irreparably behind?

And now, as the light begins to glimmer at the end of a more than yearlong tunnel, another question has emerged from the slowly dissipating darkness: How do we move forward in a landscape that has been utterly, and perhaps even permanently, altered?

"This is a whole new frontier," Wilson says. "It's like when Lewis and Clark arrived at the Royal Gorge -- what did they have to think about to make it to the other side? And that's where educators are. What do we do? All we know is there's no turning back."

JAMIE WILSON
Superintendent, Denton ISD

Major challenges: As district leader, just about everything under the sun. But one of the biggest was navigating the various expectations of parents, teachers, students and school board members as Denton ISD prepared to reopen for fall 2020, with support breaking roughly 50/50 for resuming in-person instruction.

"The way I approached it was that we have local health experts for a reason," he says. "So we hitched our wagon to the health department early on and worked to follow their recommendations. Then, in the middle of all that, the Texas attorney general comes out and says, 'You don't have to do what the health department asks you to do.'"

Problem solving: Ultimately, the district pushed the in-person start date to the Tuesday following Labor Day, with elementary students returning full time and middle and high school students on a hybrid schedule. Students who preferred to attend classes 100% online had the option of enrolling in Connected Learning, an all-virtual platform, and families could reevaluate the in-person or connected options at the beginning of each new grading period.

"It's just been a constantly evolving process," Wilson says. "Either way, you have to start and stay with the experts."

And while providing academic support has been a major motivator, so has ensuring the basic needs of all Denton ISD students. For 27 consecutive Saturdays during the pandemic, Wilson and other district leaders partnered with the local nonprofit Mission Moms to deliver groceries to low-income families.

"It was just another opportunity to connect with the community," Wilson says, "and put eyes on our kids."

JAMIE WILSON
Superintendent, Denton ISD

Implications for the future of education: Many saw it in early January, when much of Texas experienced a rare, and surprisingly significant, snowfall (the one that didn't involve rolling blackouts). Several districts opted to keep schools open -- online -- instead of losing an instructional day.

"If we have extended periods of time where schools are closed, like for weather or a natural disaster, there will be ways for students to stay connected and continue with their learning," Wilson says. "Now that we've been through this, we have a toolkit to pull from."

 

---