- A member of the swim team is found drowned in a supervised school pool.
- Members of your senior class are accused of hazing new students using sexually-oriented practices.
- Some students hack into the headmaster's computer.
- Several members of your basketball team are caught having oral sex with a 15 year old girl.
- One of your top students commits suicide in his dorm room.
- A group of students are arrested for gambling and counterfeiting currency to pay the debts.
- Students are caught saying derogatory things about teachers on FaceBook. Controversy erupts into local press.
Plan for disaster
Planning for the unthinkable is just like any other kind of planning you have to do. The difference is that so much is at stake. Your reputation as a school leader and administrator is on the line any time a crisis arises. The very future of the school could be at stake.
Sit down with your trustees and your administration and work out a plan together. Hire an experienced consultant to guide your planning and make sure that you are adopting the best practices possible. Then set out the policy and make sure that your staff understands it, acknowledges it and implements it.
Respond to disaster
News travels instantly in the 21st century. Rumors and misinformation will circulate within minutes of the event. RSS feeds and bloggers have made sure of that. Therefore it is critical to acknowledge without delay that something has happened. Call in the authorities as required. If any laws have been broken, you'd best deal with that up front. If school is in session, reassure your community. Let it know where to turn for authoritative information and facts. If school is not in session, inform key personnel as soon as possible. Send a letter or email to parents and students explaining what happened. This will help quell rumors. Depending on the severity of the situation, issue a press release so that you inform the media before it starts pestering you for comment.
The punishment must fit the crime.
Do you expel the students who have been caught having sex? Do you suspend the students caught cheating? Rather different 'crimes' deserve markedly different punishments. This is no time for subjectivity. Letting a major donor's son off lightly while expelling a scholarship student for the same offense will be perceived, and rightly so, as favoritism. That's why it is critical to have worked out protocols which you, your board and your staff can fall back on. Administer your response fairly and reasonably according to those agreed on protocols. They will save your neck every time.
Don't ever stonewall!
Pulling up the gates and circling the wagons won't work in the information age. Your credibility will be shattered the instant you waffle or misinform. If you are asked a tough question which you cannot answer, say so. But tell the inquirer that you will get back to him. Make of point of doing that too. A brusque "No comment!" will quickly be twisted by your community and outsiders to make it look like you are hiding something from them. If you can afford to hire a public relations professional, do so and take her advice. Just remember that it's only advice. You must decide in concert with your board and staff how to act on it.
Conclusion
Having a plan to deal with a crisis is critical in any sort of disaster preparation. It will help calm you to know that there is a road map to follow even if all the stops along the way haven't been determined. After all, your function, as head of school and the board's key manager on the job, is to project calm and a steady hand in the face of chaos and confusion. Your reaction and demeanor really are at the heart of why they hired you in the first place.
