Calming the Storm: Natural Disasters, Crisis Management, and School Leadership

Abstract

Natural disasters can negatively impact students’ educational outcomes and well-being. After a natural disaster, families and communities often rely on schools to foster stability and serve as a conduit to resources. Yet, school principals face many challenges, often with little guidance, in how to best respond to natural disasters. This case demonstrates that, in the aftermath of a natural disaster, educational leaders may be required to communicate effectively with staff and media; make operational, managerial, and logistical decisions quickly and under immense pressure; efficiently assess families’ needs; manage the outpouring of philanthropy; and integrate parent and community voice in governance.

Leveraging the Crisis for Equity and Access in the Long Term: A Brief Research Report

“…Principal preparation programs should be keenly aware of ways to incorporate modules or case studies about preparing for a crisis. For instance, the Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership published a case analysis that interrogates how principals respond to natural disasters (Potter, Pavlakis and Roberts, 2020). These materials should go beyond simply theoretical applications of leadership, instead focusing on leveling the field to stimulate equitable and inclusive schools.…”

“…We conducted half-hour long individual interviews with principals in September 2020 using a semi-structured interview guide (Patton, 1990) to gain insight as to how principals responded to the COVID-19 pandemic from its onset in spring 2020 to opening of school in the fall and inquire about any issues of equity (or inequity) that surfaced during this time. The interviews were guided by questions and probes that allowed principals to describe the ways they enacted equity, felt supported by colleagues, and how they determined which equity issue to address.…”

Navigating Policy and Local Context in Times of Crisis: District and School Leader Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Crisis leadership tends to be associated with characteristics leaders may possess while crisis management is more operational (e.g., developing disaster plans, conducting disaster drills, and identifying roles/responsibilities; see Mutch, 2015 ). From this view, leaders become influential actors for their respective organizations ( Potter et al, 2021 ; Thornton, 2021 ). However, because leaders’ capabilities and local conditions vary ( Mutch, 2018 ), crises often produce “winners” and “losers” ( Boin et al, 2013 ).…”

“…Notably, these inequitable differences are further related to organizational sensemaking in conditions of uncertainty (e.g., Boin et al, 2013 ; Grissom & Condon, 2021 ; McLeod & Dulsky, 2021 ; Mutch, 2015 ). During a crisis, leaders are flooded with external information they must rapidly interpret under stress ( Potter et al, 2021 ). This information—some of which is inaccurate or incomplete—influences their organization's responses ( Mumford et al, 2007 ; Potter et al, 2021 ; Weick, 1976 ).…”

Educational Decision-Making During COVID-19 in Ontario: Lessons for Higher Education

“…Such last-minute changes or vague guidance by government bodies, requiring leader to adapt has been mentioned throughout the world, where many have had to learn to work within the boundaries of unclear guidance (Kim et al, 2022). Additionally, such contexts have put leaders into situation where they are required to make important leadership decisions on incomplete or partial information while also experience the immense pressure of ensuring the safety of their school community (Potter et al, 2021). Evidently, these everchanging guidelines and inconsistencies cause uncertainty for staff as well as increased workloads for teachers, leading to higher than normal turnover rates within the school (Dos Santos, 2021;Education Support, 2020).…”