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Districts with strong centralized approaches often used top-down guidance that limited school flexibility to act beyond district direction. The brief analyzes interview data from school leaders across 33 districts in 19 states, examines equity implications, and links crisis management insights to preparation strategies for future disruptions.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/district-response-to-the-covid-19-pandemic/583773/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/district-response-to-the-covid-19-pandemic/583773.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Connor ","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":24},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What framework does the brief use to describe district COVID-19 responses?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It categorizes district responses into four types based on principal descriptions, ranging from strong centralized control to autonomy arising from limited district leadership.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Why do some districts respond more effectively than others, according to the brief?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Districts with existing reserves of resources and capacity were better able to respond to the crisis.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What data sources and scope does the brief rely on?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The analysis is based on interviews with school leaders in 33 districts across 19 states, covering urban, suburban, and rural communities.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},583773,1792210714,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":24,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},687207022233,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","University of Pennsylvania  \nScholarlyCommons  \n\n| CPRE Policy Briefs | Consortium for Policy Research in Education\u003Cbr>(CPRE) |\n| --- | --- |\n| 11-9-2020\u003Cbr>District response to the COVID-19 Pandemic\u003Cbr>Lea Hubbard\u003Cbr>University of San Diego\u003Cbr>Hollie Mackey\u003Cbr>North Dakota State University-Main Campus\u003Cbr>Jonathan A. Supovitz University of Pennsylvania\u003Cbr>Follow this and additional works at: [https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_policybriefs](https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_policybriefs)\u003Cbr> Part of the Education Commons |  |\n\nRecommended Citation  \nHubbard, Lea; Mackey, Hollie; and Supovitz, Jonathan A.. (2020) . District response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. CPRE Policy Briefs.  \nRetrieved from [https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_policybriefs/88](https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_policybriefs/88)  \nThis paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. [https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_policybriefs/88](https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_policybriefs/88)[ ](https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_policybriefs/88)For more information, please contact [repository@pobox.upenn.edu](repository@pobox.upenn.edu).  \nDistrict response to the COVID-19 Pandemic  \nAbstract  \nDistricts providing strong centralized Covid-19 responses approached the crisis from a top-down leadership and guidance model which constrained school flexibility to act outside of the district’s direction.  \nThis is one of a series of briefs that focused on a ‘critical incident’ surrounding school closure and offers pragmatic suggestions to educational leaders as they continue to grapple with the disruptions ofthe pandemic.  \nDisciplines  \nEducation  \nThis policy brief is available at ScholarlyCommons: [https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_policybriefs/88](https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_policybriefs/88)  \nLeading in Crisis  \nRESEARCH BRIEF  \nDistrict Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic  \nStrong school autonomy tended to occur in districts where there were existing infrastructure and technological resources already in place.  \nINTRODUCTION  \nThe COVID-19 pandemic provided school and district leaders with an unwanted stress test of their ability to rapidly respond to the physical, socio-emotional and instructional needs of students, teachers and families. In this brief we use data from interviews with school leaders in 33 districts across 19 states to paint a picture of district responses to the pandemic. The interviews represent a geographically and socioeconomically diverse cross section of urban, suburban and rural districts. Coming from the perspective of principals, the data reflect how school leaders perceived their district’s efforts to meet their local community’s needs. Our analyses show that district responses ranged from highly responsive to well-intentioned but fundamentally counterproductive. We found that districts which had areserve of resources and capacity to draw upon were better able to respond to the crisis. We continue with a discussion of district responses relative to what research on crisis management suggests, an analysis of equity issues that the district responses raised, and the importance of preparation for effective crisis response. We conclude with a set of takeaways for district leaders to consider as they reflect on their system’s responses and how they might adjust to respond more fruitfully to future unexpected challenges.  \nAUTHORS  \nLea Hubbard  \nUniversity of San Diego  \nHollie Mackey  \nNorth Dakota State University  \nJonathan A. Supovitz  \nUniversity of Pennsylvania  \nAuthors listed alphabetically as all contributed equally to this brief.  \nABOUT THIS STUDY  \nLeading in Crisis documents school and district experiences following school closures in March 2020 due to COVID-19 .  \nFrom April to August 2020, researchers conducted interviews with a diverse sample of 120 principalsin 19 states, including elementary, middle and high school leaders from urban, suburban, and rural areas across the U. S. The interviews asked about the most pressing issues leaders fac","cbCaio2oUu12CXd4","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaio2oUu12CXd4","pdf",637951,18,"English","# Introduction\n## Categorizing District Responses\n## Strong Centralized Response\n## About This Study","[{\"question\":\"What framework does the brief use to describe district COVID-19 responses?\",\"answer\":\"It categorizes district responses into four types based on principal descriptions, ranging from strong centralized control to autonomy arising from limited district leadership.\"},{\"question\":\"Why do some districts respond more effectively than others, according to the brief?\",\"answer\":\"Districts with existing reserves of resources and capacity were better able to respond to the crisis.\"},{\"question\":\"What data sources and scope does the brief rely on?\",\"answer\":\"The analysis is based on interviews with school leaders in 33 districts across 19 states, covering urban, suburban, and rural communities.\"}]","District response to the COVID-19 Pandemic | PDF",1792048348,45]