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AS SUPERINTENDENT of reputedly the first school district in the country to move from in-person to remote learning when the pandemic hit a year ago, Michelle Reid exercised her long-groomed relationships with parents and staff for important payoffs.

Teamwork comes naturally to Reid, who leads the 24,000-student suburban Northshore School District in Bothell, Wash. As a collegiate basketball player who majored in chemistry, it鈥檚 not surprising Reid intuitively fosters collaboration and mentoring.

鈥淧eople are not widgets,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e all motivated differently. They learn differently and have different roles. I鈥檓 tuned in-to that. In science, everything is interconnected. No data point stands alone 鈥� I can work on a few variables.鈥�

She adds, 鈥淕etting feedback that improves performance, being comfortable in public performance鈥� and continuing 鈥渢o seek out feedback, even if it鈥檚 not positive,鈥� informs her leadership approach. 鈥淕ood leaders position themselves for the first pass. Great leaders position themselves for the second pass. There鈥檚 the constant duality of planning for the present with an eye on the future.鈥�

The sharp pivoting that was required of Northshore a year ago comes comfortably to Reid, according to Tim Brittell, president of the Northshore Education Association for the past 16 years. 鈥淔rom our first phone call in February of 2020 dealing with the COVID emergency, we have stood solidly together to manage this crisis,鈥� he says.

She was honored at 91制片鈥檚 virtual national conference in February as one of the four finalists for 2021 National Superintendent of the Year. She鈥檚 also Washington state鈥檚 reigning superintendent of the year.

Early in her career, when Reid taught 7th-grade general science, her students struggled to figure out how blood circulated through the heart. So their teacher put masking tape on the classroom floor and set up cardboard 鈥渧alves鈥� to illustrate the pathway, as a way for students to 鈥渨alk through the heart,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey got it, and I realized there are ways to teach that are maybe not traditional.鈥�

Reid originally expected to pursue a career in medical research, but instead has committed to a 41-year education tenure that includes a previous superintendency in Port Orchard, Wash. She delights in what education can deliver.

鈥淭he power to shape the next generation, the power in that work is huge,鈥� she says, noting her commitment to expanding opportunities for the underserved and prioritizing equity.

During a pre-pandemic visit to a 5th-grade classroom, Reid was delighted to see four girls enthusiastically calculating the volume of a squash. Her feeling turned to dismay when she learned none of the girls planned to take a district entrance exam for higher-level math because it was administered on a single Saturday in one school.

Reid couldn鈥檛 ignore the moment. She directed her staff to offer more testing dates 鈥渢o be sure that every child would have access.鈥�

The pandemic has sparked opportunities for rethinking education. 鈥淲hen we re-open, schools of the future shouldn鈥檛 look like schools of the past,鈥� Reid shared in an 91制片 webinar in January. When the 2020-21 school year began, teachers used professional conference days to meet with students and their families online. Afterward, Reid says teachers told her, 鈥淲e have to do this every year before we make judgments.鈥�

Reid expects to act on other lessons drawn from the COVID-19 disruption.

鈥淲e discovered learning spaces that transcend walls,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e learned that teachers can collaborate across buildings, that professional development can be delivered and that sharing best practices is much more visible and transparent.鈥�

Still, Reid affirms, 鈥淟earning happens best in community. What we have to do is not let conditions define community.鈥�