Kara Lasater, Meghan Scales, Kelley Sells, Meleah Hoskins and Jordan Dickey
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how rural schools and communities responded to the COVID-19 pandemic through compassionate care.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how rural schools and communities responded to the COVID-19 pandemic through compassionate care.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper provides “compassion narratives” (Frost et al., 2006, p. 851) from five educators (i.e. the authors) working and/or living in rural communities. Each narrative describes how compassion was witnessed and experienced from various professional positions (which include classroom teacher; building-level leader; district-level leader; special services director and school psychologist; and assistant professor of educational leadership).
Findings
The compassion narratives described in this paper demonstrate how various organizations and communities responded to COVID-19 through compassionate care. They also provide a lens for considering how rural schools and communities might sustain compassion in a post-pandemic world.
Originality/value
This paper extends disciplinary knowledge by considering the healing, transformative power of compassion within rural schools and communities – not just in response to COVID-19 but in response to all future adversities.