Superintendents have long had to handle political pressure, criticism and community concerns. But amid incidents of racism, school violence and staff misconduct, the depth, breadth and volume of crises and challenges facing school leaders may be reaching new heights.

During a Thought Leader session at the AASA national conference Thursday titled “Navigating Political Pressures,” superintendents from different districts shared their process to handle conflict management. They detailed how they responded to hostility and instability and why transparency is so important.   

Hostility can be difficult to navigate, acknowledged Matt Montgomery, superintendent of Lake Forest School Districts 67 and 115, in Lake Forest, Ill. Montgomery shared how he operated in the face of an opposition party dedicated to his decline.

“My response has gotten better,” he said about his own growth. He advised superintendents to use their voices selectively, choosing the best times to speak. But he also emphasized that speech must be “clear, consistent and frequent” to ensure you maintain respect in the community while not appearing to succumb to political pressure.

When faced with instability, Jason Fine, superintendent of Bexley City Schools in Bexley, Ohio, recommended approaching it with urgency. 

When hired, Fine was the fifth superintendent hired in four years. Soon after being hired, a student’s racist remark was broadcast before the school. Fine stressed that the moments after the event were critical to maintaining stability in his district.

“Communication, transparency and education” were the cornerstones to the district’s response and recovery in that situation, he said. The community needs to feel that work is being done to combat the issue and that preventive measures are being considered to mitigate future occurrences, Fine said

Transparency also was emphasized as a way to navigate political pressures. Rebecca Jenkins, superintendent of Libertyville School District 70 in Libertyville, Ill., stressed the importance of communicating with the community. She recalled a meeting she invited herself to that hosted 45 parents from the district where they discussed their issues.

It was important for her to be there, Jenkins said. “They need to hear it from me, not anyone else.” That transparency allowed for tensions to settle and allow for productive dialogue moving forward, she said.

Regular communication is critical for transparency too and not just during a crisis. Nicholas Guarente, superintendent of Big Spring School District in Newville, Pa., spoke about the monthly newsletter and daily social media updates he sends to the community.

He credits the relationship he’s built with parents to the transparency in his frequent updates because it allows parents insight into students’ lives. That relationship was critical when some in the community claimed school bathrooms had kitty litter, he said. 

“We needed to control our narrative, we needed to facilitate incoming communication and we needed to be strategic and consistent and concise as possible with factual stuff,” Guarente said. “Now they actually see the benefit of that where people show up to meetings and regurgitate what we gave them.”

(Mohammad Tantawi, a senior journalism major at Louisiana State University, is a reporter on Conference Daily Online.)