“They Masked our Children”: School District Communication Officers’ Sensemaking of Parent Activists During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, school board meetings were regularly featured on news broadcasts and social media platforms, depicting scenes of conflict, controversy, and disruption. We wondered how school district communication officers made sense of and remembered parent activists during the pandemic. Using sensemaking theory as a guiding framework, we analyzed data from interviews with 22 school district public information officers (PIOs) in Texas. Data analysis revealed what PIOs noticed (e.g. uncertainty, school board politicization, and closing/opening schools), their meaning-making (e.g. “return-to-normalcy” parents and “risk-averse” parents), and their actions (high vs. low engagement). With regard to remembering, or legacy, emergent themes included “strengthened relationships and learning” and the “domino effect,” which describes school districts where parent activism has persisted with new issues. In light of these findings, we offer theoretical and practical implications including recognition of several sensemaking tensions and impacts on PIOs of sensemaking under prolonged, stressful conditions.