Grappling with Covid’s Impact on Education: Labor and Management Confront the Crisis

Labor-management collaboration is not an absence of conflict or disagreement. It is the ability to work together, lifting up diverse experiences and perspectives, and persevering until we address the issue at hand. Even in the best of times, developing trust and collaboration in large organizations is a challenge. This is especially true of public education systems staffed by leaders who are overwhelmed and exhausted grappling with the education and welfare of our children while also dealing with complex social issues from race and class to generational poverty in a pandemic.

The leaders interviewed for this study illuminate the challenge of California’s public school leaders working quickly together during the course of the pandemic to continue education services and protect students and staff during an unprecedented time. This challenge was further complicated by the politicization of the pandemic and the continually evolving understanding of COVID-19 safety considerations.