Superintendents often struggle with unspoken mental health issues due to the stress of the job, and the presenters at an AASA national conference session on Saturday morning shared some distinctive personal strategies that benefitted their mental states.
During “A Tale of Two Superintendents: Leadership, Resilience and the Journey Through Mental Health,” Doug Stilwell and Maria Libby shared impactful tales that illustrated how the superintendency can be such an all-consuming, demanding and emotionally taxing job. Their message: It is vitally important to find ways to push forward and take time for self-care.
Both Stilwell and Libby had recently shared their personal stories in articles for AASA’s School Administrator magazine. Libby’s article, “One Life-Changing Step,” appeared in November 2023, while Stilwell’s first-person piece, “Leadership with a Diagnosis of Depression,” ran in the January 2024 issue.
Stilwell, clinical assistant professor of educational leadership at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, was diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression a few months before stepping into the position of superintendent at the Urbandale Community School District in Urbandale, Iowa. He said engaging with the community was difficult and mentally exhausting from putting on a professional facade.
Stilwell admitted he had trouble with self-acceptance and wished that having conversations about mental health was more normalized, explaining he did not want to show weakness. From that experience, he learned that acknowledging mental health concerns shows strength.
Stilwell said he was grateful for his diagnosis and when he was ready to tell the truth about his mental health, his colleagues were supportive.
Libby, superintendent of Five Town Community School District in Camden, Maine, took an uncommon six-month sabbatical in 2022that greatly benefitted her mental health.
She said she “just wanted to be” and was physically and mentally drained from the difficult work as a superintendent. Her sabbatical, a rare opportunity in public school leadership, brought joy back into her life, made her a better leader and allowed her to accomplish things she had always wanted to do.
She told her conference audience that she does not think she would still be a superintendent if not for her sabbatical, and the time away from the intense work showed her the importance of taking time for yourself.
Both presenters stressed that setting boundaries, taking care of yourself and creating a culture where it is comfortable to talk about mental health greatly benefitted them as people. As Stilwell and Libby said, the first step is being vulnerable and taking mental health breaks when needed.
(Charli Slaughter, a sophomore at Mount Carmel Academy in New Orleans, is a reporter for Conference Daily Online.)
