The 3 Cs and 2 Rs for school leadership during #Lockdown. Plan afresh, prepare anew

With the imminent extension of lockdown and schools remaining closed for a longer period, school leaders, staff, students, parents are grappling with uncertainty, confusion, expectations from themselves, helpless ness, anger and hope in various degrees at various times depending on what is up close and what needs to be mitigated on personal front. All this amidst the uncertainty of funding, paying overheads, admissions, school fees, new recruitments, maintenance of infrastructure and supporting the school community through this unnerving time.

Today is precious and tomorrow, whenever that is, schools will reopen. A deluge of worksheets, lesson plans, activity plans can be overwhelming to create  by the teachers as well as for parents who needs to implement them .  As a school advisor and mentor to the leadership teams across India, I am experiencing the varied challenges schools are facing. The school leadership is sorting them with their teams  on an ongoing basis.

 Here are my 3Cs and 2Rs for the school leadership to consider:

Communicate : If you were not communicating much earlier as a school leader, start now. If you were, increase the frequency even more. Communicate with your teaching staff, with your administrative staff, with your support staff, with your students, your parents, your board members, consultants, advisors and also your vendors. All who constitute your school community. Translate written communication into languages that they understand and are familiar with. Send short voice and/or video messages whenever possible. Communicate to inform, to support, to manage, to reflect, to share personal stories, to connect.

Contextualise : Think about the groups and individuals and structure, contextualise and customise your interaction as well as materials you are sharing with each member/group in the school community. For students it could be their interest areas and what is connected with the curriculum; for staff it could be about their professional development as well as about their family; for parents it could be about their tryst and tribulations as parents, about their child, about the transactions they have with their school from fee to books, uniform, transport as well as about how they can contribute their skills from cooking to counselling to the school community from their home; Any crisis management support that school and/or anyone within the school community might require and who can they reach out to. As school leaders, it is not only about your school board or students that you have to think about but everyone who is your connection with the student and the board.

Check-in : Make a routine to meet with your staff one on one/in groups so as to check-in with each one of them regularly, individually and in small groups. Do figure out how the school premises can be looked into to ensure maintenance and safety during the lock down period. What about the security, plumbing, electrician, gardener and other facility staff who may or may not be under your direct supervision. Where are they, how are they, can they do an inspection of the premises and also, if they need any support from the management.

Reflect : This is a good time to  brainstorm with your advisory board (not necessarily the statutory board) of the school to review, reflect and grow. As a school leader, list out some of the key challenges you are facing personally and professionally that you may not be able to share with your team. Share it with the advisory board and brainstorm a way forward. Enlist a professional advisor or a coach, a mentor or a thought partner, a sounding board even to reflect and grow yourself and your school.

Relaunch : When you reopen the school after lockdown, it would be possibly like opening a new term altogether. Plan and prepare for how you would welcome your school community. How would you create a new bridge of understanding of the changed realities. Some of them would have suffered loss of loved ones, some of their jobs, some of strained relationships, some emotional breakdowns and some changed for a better self even. How would you create groups to collaborate, groups to support each other? What would be your starting strategy – jump in the session as if nothing happened or taking cognisance and acknowledging what each one has gone through in their own ways and bring them on the same page? How would you redefine your organisation’s goals and your leadership in this changed reality?

As school leaders, you will have to lead by showing exceptional grit and resilience, by communicating with empathy and clarity. Good time to think about it and chip away everyday preparing for leading your school community through it all now and thereafter. It is spring time isn’t it? plan afresh. Prepare anew.

How will you do it? Please share your thoughts in this blog post for me and fellow readers to read and learn.