In this interview, RBT Consultant Reena Freedman speaks with School Leader Julie Craven about how the many leadership lessons that her bout with long COVID has brought to light.

While Julie's school had many distributed leadership protocols in place, her illness allowed her to identify additional ways to make processes more transparent and to build on compassion and connection within the school community.  

About Julie Craven:

Julie Craven is currently Head of School at Rindge Avenue Upper Campus in Cambridge, MA. She is entering her 28th year in the Cambridge Public School District, where she has had the honor of serving as district History/Social Science instructional coach, 8th grade History teacher, and 7th/8th grade Humanities teacher. Her time as an 8th grade History teacher in San Francisco, an English Instructor in Taiwan, and a Chinese and French teacher in Concord, NH have all informed her understanding of teaching and learning. Throughout her career she has maintained a focus on instruction, curriculum development, and social justice. She has co-edited a series of books on middle school curriculum development (Moving Middle Schools, Heinemann 1996), published curriculum on African American history and project-based learning, and led a range of professional development on curriculum and instruction. She is a proud mother of an adult son who was educated in the Cambridge Public Schools and the happy wife of a fifth grade teacher. She has been living with Long Covid since December 2020.