Staying Grounded in Your “Why”

The 2025-2026 school year seems to have flown by faster than most. Too often, unexpected crises push our intentional focus in a direction that we hadn’t planned. When we have time to breathe and count the costs, we realize the autumnal vision for renewal and transformation seems like a distant memory instead of a compelling movement.

That realization might grip a leader in paralysis. Rather, it is simply the time for leaders to reflect on and take stock of the pivots, crises, and detours, and determine what part of that vision might be saved through the end of the year. Reality is, educational leaders must expect and accept the dynamism that comes with public leadership and, without apology, lean into the current state in order to move forward.   

Each of us is compelled by our own “why,” which is an anchor for our work and not determined by the calendar. Similarly, the refreshing and compelling energy that existed in August doesn’t need to expire because the timeline needed to shift. Reconnecting to purpose in the spring allows us to recalibrate for the homestretch. No matter how it is calculated – 40 days, 8 weeks, or two months – every minute in each of our students’ education is critical in their academic, social, and emotional growth and development.

Perhaps one of the greatest challenges in times of turbulence and distraction is the ability to stay connected and in community. As with many of our colleagues, those moments in schools or at district events remind me of my why. As we head into the final weeks of the school year, we might find renewal in purpose and our “why” by reaching out to stakeholders that we find ourselves most distant from. I am a firm proponent of present leadership, and making it part of the end-of-year action plan will ensure an investment that carries into next year.  Staff, students and families need to be shown that their leader is still with them and not simply weathering final weeks alongside them. 

The end of the year will arrive regardless of how we spend these final weeks. But how we choose to finish — with presence, with purpose, with our community — is itself a leadership act. We are architects of our students’ futures, and the blueprints for next year are quietly being drawn right now in every conversation, every interaction, every moment we choose connection over completion. So as June approaches, perhaps the most important question isn’t what the year left unfinished — it’s whether the people who need us most know that we are still fully and purposefully present.