The Role of School Leaders During this Disruptive Times

Noemi M. Sagun

With the high expectations of DepEd, those leading schools bear huge responsibilities. Competent school leaders are crucial to large-scale, long-term education transformation. School leaders are essential, but they are often viewed to be taking on more and more functions.

The pressure on school leaders working in these demanding and chaotic circumstances is relentless; options are limited, and sleepless nights are typical. A school day used to consist of face-to-face staff meetings, quick catch-ups, and conversations with coworkers— all of those informal, essential moments when social bonds are formed, and demonstrated leadership went abruptly. Parents, students, and teachers now live in a twilight education world, either expecting the restoration of regular service or hoping for a new normal that would provide stability, continuity, and reassurance. The harsh reality is that neither is going to happen anytime soon.

Meanwhile, school leaders find themselves in the undesirable position of being the system's weakest link. They rely on top-down guidance for COVID-19 responses, processes, procedures, and protocols.

In a crisis, leaders must act quickly, with foresight, and serious analysis of choices, repercussions and side effects of actions made. This is undeniably true, yet no one can foretell what the best answers, best efforts, and side effects of any measures performed in this crisis will be. School leaders are balancing on a tightrope with no safety net. There are no examples or standards for leading schools during a pandemic.

Crisis and change management are now required competencies for a school administrator. Running an efficient school in turbulent times will include more than standard issue resolution and the occasional firefighting. Instead, all school leaders will need to be constantly involved in crisis and change management, which will necessitate the cooperation and collaboration of all personnel. Because the rate of change in this pandemic is unprecedented, a high level of trust will be required as the communal glue to guarantee that challenges are addressed collectively as they arise.

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The author is Teacher-III at Pag-asa Elementary School, Bansud District,

Schools Division of Oriental Mindoro, MIMAROPA Region