The promise of a new year brings a sense of fresh starts. The response of educators in delivering quality education during a global pandemic proved that, as educators, we can endure much more than we ever would have thought possible. The very sense of urgency that was applied to the creation of new structures, capacity expansion and innovative collaborations during the Coronavirus pandemic must not be lost by leaders as 2021 ushers in the hope of effective vaccines and an end to Corona-life as we knew it in 2020.

Although we know districts managed a number of challenges presented by the pandemic, a fresh start in 2021 for educators does not mean simply moving beyond the pandemic. What we experienced in 2020, has cast a blinding light on the inequities of public education and even exacerbated those inequalities.

Equitability, or rather the lack thereof, has been a drum beat of educators for decades. Our fresh start in 2021 is the opportunity to leverage the recognition of educational inequities that COVID-19 shoved into the realm of public discussion. I dare say that never have systems been so pumped and primed for such dialogue. How do we build on the work that’s been accomplished and continue to make a difference for our students, schools, and districts?

Education leaders must be poised to move the needle from dialogue to action. Teams must be positioned for success. Courageous conversation and bold change are the only ways forward. Communication and collaboration with your educators and policy makers must be prioritized. To borrow a phrase from the former Education Secretary Arne Duncan, the time has come to stop treating the problem of educational inequity as “a grinding, eat-your-broccoli exercise.” It is time to start treating it as an opportunity for innovation and accelerating progress.

For many organizations, this fresh start means powering up an already aggressive mandate for change. Others may be heading with resolve to the starting line. Though I have engaged in this work with passion, resolve, and urgency since 1996, I am starting fresh in 2021. I have never been more excited to assist educational organizations transform leadership as if lives depend on it, because they do.

Nearly 93 percent of households with school-age children reported some form of distance learning during COVID-19, according to the US Census Bureau. Education leaders met this unprecedented and unforeseen shift in teaching practices with a warrior spirit. You developed new tactics for collaboration and stretched your team in ways that just one year ago would have seemed unimaginable. All the while, the expectations you held for your administrators, teachers and learners remained high.

Even in the best of times, educators are commonly regarded as heroes. But the year 2020 has created an even greater appreciation for your work. “It is hard to imagine there will be another moment in history when the central role of education in the economic, social, and political prosperity and stability of nations is so obvious and well understood by the general population,” the Brookings Institute wrote in a recent report.

The weapon you wield is not one that can be seen, but rather felt. Passion and a strong belief that all students can and deserve to reach their full potential drives your warrior spirit. As 2020 draws to a close, take pride in all the challenges you have overcome, the innovative strategies you have deployed, the inner strength you summoned, the lessons you have learned and, most importantly, the lives you continued to impact – even as the world changed around you.

A special thank you to educators across the nation for all your incredible work—your work makes a difference!