The term resilience is generally accepted as our capacity to recover from adversity, difficulties, or trauma. But in schools, resilience must be about rising above where we are and excelling to new heights — about thriving, not just surviving. Over the past year, this has been a theme of my work as superintendent in Santa Fe, Texas. As our community recovers from a school shooting in 2018, our resilience goes beyond coping with the tragedy. Throughout our recovery, we have maintained a focus on rebuilding a stronger school system in every way. Focusing on students’ learning is our core mission and one of the primary anchors we have used in building resilience in students, staff, and leaders. The work of building trust and improving teaching