Flying a Plane, While Also Building the Plane in the Air: A COVID-19 Composite Narrative for Educational Re/newal

<i>Using narrative inquiry to understand the stories from 15 PreK-12 and higher education administrators, this article interweaves narrative inquiry, composite characters, and arts-based research. As such, this article presents the composite narratives of the pandemic and its impact on PreK-20 educational leaders as a non-fictional story of two old friends catching up in a speculative future beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. These non-fictional accounts are built upon the pastiche of data shared with the research team to craft a coherent narrative creatively. This composite narrative is presented in the article as a whole story to serve as a blueprint for innovative qualitative methodological explorations that speak both to scholars and practitioners. The experiences of Supe and Dean are two composite characters representing the broad experiences of the administrators from our study. More specifically, Supe(rintendent), represents the collective experiences of our PreK-12 administrators, and Dean (of Students) represents the broad experiences of our higher education administrators. Using the composite narratives of our 8 PreK-12 leaders and our 7 higher education leaders allows us to craft a compelling comparative understanding between educational levels and their national response to the COVID-19 pandemic. By engaging in the creative, we not only document the means by which educators have experienced the pandemic, but it also allows us to imagine the outcomes of what could be based on the understandings crafted during these times. </i>