Leading a School Through Challenge and Crisis

EDU BA311A Subject & Catalog Number

Description

***ONLY OFFERED FOR OEL STUDENTS*** 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 get through the storm.  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, a hurricane – to less urgent but no less real crises: a slashed budget, a sharp decline in enrollment, crumbling infrastructure, reports of sexual assault. And of course it is hard to imagine more challenging situations than the recent pandemic and the ongoing struggles over racial justice and culture wars. 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, from the world of schools to explorers and even to the American presidency.