School district superintendent Dr. Damaris Rau is a self-proclaimed advocate for equity. A child of the foster care system and a graduate of St. John’s University,  Rau went from working as a teacher and administrator in the Bronx public school system during the Crack epidemic to working at a school in Greenwich, Connecticut, a town which is widely recognized as one of the richest places in America. This transition opened her eyes to levels of inequality in public school systems. “These kids have so much, and these kids have so little. Why is that? Why does there have to be such a gap in how we are educating kids and what we are providing for students to have an equitable education?” asks Rau.

One of her proudest accomplishments in the school district of Lancaster, the superintendent says, is her work on issues of equity. She runs three different equity-centered committees, which work with students, teachers, and community members to evaluate and solve issues of inequality within the district. She has also done diversity training with staff and started a mentoring program for young boys of color after a district study found that they were disproportionately suspended and had significantly lower academic achievement than their peers, beginning in middle school. The program aims to bring in positive African American role models from around the community to dictate the group’s curriculum and set positive examples. In the future, Rau hopes to expand this program to schools across the district and for other demographics.

Another of her greatest accomplishments within the School District of Lancaster, Rau says, has been the normalization of higher education for McCaskey students. The number of McCaskey students taking dual enrollment courses at colleges greatly increased under Rau’s administration, helped by the creation of the College and Career Center at McCaskey. “I really believe that education is the key to a successful future… That’s why I do what I do every single day,” she says. Since beginning at SDoL in 2015, Rau has advocated first and foremost for the students. 

As cases of the coronavirus appeared in cities across the country in early March 2020, the superintendent knew that it was only a matter of time before the Lancaster school district would have to close. So when the spouse of a district staff member tested positive, Rau didn’t take any chances, announcing a district-wide closure on Thursday, March 12 –  a full day before the state mandated closure. 

“We believe that the state made that move because we did it,” says Rau. Even in a normal year, she says, safety is at the top of school administrators’ priorities. 

Once schools closed, Rau was tasked with figuring out how to get the thousands of district students back into school safely and allowing them to continue with their education. Her days were filled with zoom meetings- part of the reason, she says, that she was such a strong advocate for the return to in-person learning. “it’s exhausting mentally, emotionally, and physically,” she says.

This brings us to the second epidemic of 2020: the lack of student motivation. “I heard from many students, especially high school students, that they had given up,” says Rau. “They weren’t learning anymore because they were interested in learning, they were just going through the motions.” 

Starting in August 2020, the superintendent was the voice of dissent amidst a school board not ready to make the transition from fully virtual to a hybrid learning model.  Only on January 12, 2021, did the school board approve the switch.

“The board saw that I couldn’t take it anymore,” Rau says. “It was impacting me so emotionally that kids were so unhappy and failing… It is my job to make sure that our kids are doing well, and I felt like I wasn’t doing a very good job.”

The Superintendent’s Council, a group of McCaskey students in various programs with whom Rau meets every six weeks, has played a large role in her opinions on student learning. She also meets weekly with groups from Buchanan and Wharton elementary schools to evaluate COVID numbers and mitigation efforts.

But what is it like to be a superintendent during the coronavirus pandemic? 

“In March, when we first closed, I was here pretty much alone in this building until September. I didn’t see anybody except custodians, and it was depressing,” says Rau. So, on January 25, she adopted a Pomeranian puppy named Max. “I should have done that a long time ago,” she says.  “Because he does bring such joy to me.” Besides, she adds, “he is so cute.”