The Year of Letting Go and Holding On: School-leaders’ Role During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study aimed to understand the lived reality of school-principals during the 2020–2021 school-year, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and coinciding political upheaval. Using the Longitudinal Qualitative Research method, we employed in-depth interviews with seven principals, using purposeful sampling. This study took place in Florida where a plethora of new policies were the backdrop. Five interconnected findings emerged: (1) shifting priorities of principals, (2) the challenge of leading teaching and learning during a pandemic; (3) teacher shortage crisis; (4) school with an asterisk; and (5) transformative leadership and social capital fading while crisis-leadership remaining constant over the study's two phases.