Chapter 15: Collective Leadership For Well-Being And Sustainable School Improvement

Isolation is exhausting. If nothing else, 2020 taught us this.

However, we have known that the superhero teacher/principal narrative, long popularized in movies (e.g., Dead Poets Society, 1989; Freedom Writers, 2007; Lean on Me, 1989; Stand and Deliver, 1988) is fictionalized and unsustainable. These movies leave out the amazing colleagues that make the work of the great teacher or administrator possible. Leading schools is far too complex to do by ourselves. Certainly, education draws idealists who want to teach and lead for justice, change trajectories for students, and inspire. These passions are fuel for work that is often underappreciated; however, they can also sap us of our strength as we push beyond our limits and move beyond the support of our collective professional community.