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  2. EDU A311A

Leading a School Through Challenge and Crisis
EDU A311A

Course Information

Description

*Lottery-based Enrollment* Harvard’s famous anthem Fair Harvard sees “calm rising thro’ change and thro’ storm.” But school leaders are the ones who have to take the tiller and figure out the way to steer through the storm. Recent school years provide staggering cases, from the pandemic to issues of racial justice and culture wars. How could leaders respond to these crises in real time? How does one also find the inner calm to be able to lead effectively? The thrust of this case-based, discussion-based course is to challenge students to problem-solve the widely varied kinds of problems – and yes, crises – that school leaders face. They range from the immediate – the death of a student, the threat of an armed person on campus, a racist incident – to possibly less urgent but no less real crises: a slashed budget, crumbling infrastructure, reports of sexual assault. By working through specific cases, this course will illuminate larger operational and strategic issues that are part and parcel of the work of a school leader. While some cases will be drawn from the instructor’s direct experiences in leading an independent school, the issues addressed will be central for students aspiring to lead all manner of schools: public, charter, faith-based, and private. Readings will be drawn from several sources that focus on the nature of leadership, both in the world of schools and beyond.

Class Notes

Non-HGSE Harvard students cross registering into Lottery-based Enrollment courses must email registrar@gse.harvard.edu to request to be added to the lottery event. Non-Harvard students are not eligible to enter the course lottery. Please see this page of the Office of the Registrar website for more information.

School Graduate School of Education
Credits 2
Cross Reg

Available for Harvard Cross Registration

Department Education
Course Component Regular Course
Instruction Mode In Person
Subject Education
Grading Basis HGSE Student Option (Letter Graded, Sat/Unsat)
Learning Goals Think more deeply about the nature of one's own leadership style, strengths and challenges. Recognize that even in the best-run and healthiest schools, challenges and crises arise -- that is part of the work -- and that a key is thinking about how to respond.
Career Focus <p>Explore more deeply the nature of leadership, using examples that transcend the world of education.&nbsp; Applicable for those engaged in public, private, charter and faith-based schools, both domestic and international.</p>