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Benchmark – Adverse Situations

Kristin Lilley

Master of Education in Educational Administration, Grand Canyon University

EAD 536- Strategic Leadership and Management in the Principalship

Dr. Nesa Sasser

September 1, 2021
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Benchmark – Adverse Situations

In the case study, I am the principal of Sunset Hills K-8 school. The outside temperatures

have reached 98 degrees and are continuing to rise on a May morning. At noon, the facilities

manager informs me that the central air conditioning units in the building are down. As I am

visiting classrooms, I notice students beginning to sweat and fanning themselves with papers. As

the principal, I am responsible for the safety and well-being of my students and staff and

planning for events like this are important to the job. By having plans in place to keep students

and staff safe, schools play a key role in taking preventative and protective measures to stop an

emergency from occurring or reduce the impact of an incident (Office of Safe and Healthy

Students et al., 2013).

Management and Operational Systems

The main decision to be made in this case study is to determine if students and staff can

maintain a productive and safe learning environment with the rising temperatures and broken air

conditioning units. If they cannot, I must decide what steps to take. To inform my decision, I

need additional information on the air conditioning units, including the timing for fixing the

problem. Additionally, I need information from the nurse on any students that have severe

medical conditions that high temperatures and lack of air conditioning may affect. My priorities

are to keep the students and staff safe and healthy while determining our next steps. Any students

that have medical conditions that can be greatly impacted by the extreme temperatures will be

moved to an area with fans to ensure their health maintains top priority.

Human, Fiscal, and Technological Resources

It is important to communicate with staff, students, and families openly about the

situation to ensure all stakeholders are well-informed of the status and steps to rectifying the
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situation. Since staff are in the middle of the school day with students, communication will be

through email. Announcements will be made for teachers to check their email when there are

updates to be made. Communication with families will be made if the outcome of the air

conditioning units requires students to be sent home. Providing too much information with

families could result in fear and unnecessary chaos. This information will be shared with parents

through district messaging and through teachers on classroom communication tools.

Additional resources needed to ensure the health and safety of students and staff is

maintained comes through the repair of the air conditioning units. The temperatures are rising

and the only way to rectify the situation is to repair the equipment or cancel school for the

remainder of the day and subsequent days, if necessary, until the temperature within the building

can be regulated.

Safety and Welfare of Students and Staff

According to Clark County School District (CCSD) Policy 6114, the Superindendent

shall determine when a school’s climate is too extreme for productive teaching and learning. If a

dismissal is necessary due to extreme weather conditions, appropriate CCSD procedures will be

adhered to and followed (Clark County School District, 2012). Once it has been determined that

the air conditioning units will not be able to be reapaired quickly, I would call the

Superintendent’s office to discuss the next steps of sending the students home and canceling the

rest of the school day. The Federal Commission of School Safety (2018) identified that states,

districts, and local schools must develop a comprehensive school safety plan that includes a

requirement for school safety training for all school personnel. This includes training and

planning efforts of the principal, district, and state officials. Training applies to teachers, school
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staff, school resource officers (SROs), and state, local, and tribal law enforcement (U.S.

Department of Education, 2018).

Collaboration with Faculty and Community

Stakeholders that would be involved in this decision would be the Superintendent’s

office, the facilities maintenance department, and the school administration. Additionally, I

would contact the Parks and Recreation Department to determine an alternate location for

students that are unable to be picked up or students that attend the Safekey after school program

can be taken to ensure they are in an air-conditioned building. Ultimately, families feel the need

to be connected with their child’s educational experience and often seek educators on how to

best support students (Currie-Rubin & Smith, 2014). This communication does not stop with

academic progress and development, but also includes social-emotional and safety measures.

Natale & Lubniewski (2018) suggest all schools will benefit from higher levels of engagement

with the communities in which they are located. Greater sharing of information and reporting of

schoolwide concerns is essential.

Solution Rationale

Starting immediately after learning of the broken air conditioning unit, I would call the

Facilities Manager for the district and put in an emergency work order to have the system

repaired. Knowing that the air conditioning unit will not be repaired right away, my next action

step is to contact the nurse to determine if there are any students that need to have swift action

taken to support their health needs. Any fans in the building will be commandeered to provide a

cool place for those students with medical needs. Next, I will contact the teachers to inform them

of the known issue and ensure they feel informed along the way as to action steps to rectify the

situation. These decision are made with the well-being of my staff and students in mind. To
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ensure students are safe from heat stroke is vital to aligning with the school’s vision of providing

a safe learning environment for all students. Taking action and communicating with my staff

shows them that I care for their mental and physical health and support their needs in all

situations.

Once all staff and students are eased, I will contact the Superintendent’s office to inform

the district of the situation. This would be done within thirty minutes of learning of the broken

air conditioning units and submitting the work order. I will provide information on temperatures

inside the classrooms, the affect the riding temperature is having on my students, and the results

of a quick needs assessment on student medical needs and staff teaching conditions. The

Superintendent’s office is responsible for deciding whether the climate is too extreme for

productive learning conditions and will decide whether the school needs to be closed.

The solution I chose protects the welfare and safety of students and staff by ensuring the

medical needs and well-being of everyone on campus is being maintained. The Professional

Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL) states within standard seven that effective leaders

develop workplace conditions for teachers and other professional staff that promote effective

professional development, practice, and student learning (National Policy Board for Educational

Administration, 2015). Developing workplace conditions includes planning for adverse

situations and ensuring maintenance is completed on systems to prevent damage to the school

facilities. Ensuring that repairs are completed in a timely manner greatly decreased the

opportunity for severe situation to take place. The PSEL also states within standard ten that

effective leaders manage uncertainty, risk, competing initiatives, and politics of change with

courage and perseverance, providing support and encouragement, and openly communicating the

need for, process for, and outcomes of improvement efforts (National Policy Board for
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Educational Administration, 2015). As a principal, it is important to consider all outcomes of

adverse situations and ensure that plans are in place to decrease the time it takes when

implementing solutions in uncertain situations. Remaining open with communication,

encouraging during uncertain times, and positive in all discussion with stakeholders are

important dispositions of a school leader in emergency conditions.

References

Clark County School District. (2012). Clark county school district policies and regulations.

https://www.ccsd.net/district/policies-regulations/pdf/6114_P.pdf

Currie-Rubin, R., & Smith, S. J. (2014). Understanding the roles of families in virtual learning.

Teaching Exceptional Children, 46(5), 117-126.

DeVos, B., Nielsen, K. M., Azar, A. M., II, Whitaker, M., Department of Education, E. F. C. on

S. S., US Department of Homeland Security, US Department of Health and Human

Services, & US Department of Justice (2018). Final report of the federal commission on

school safety. Presented to the President of the United States. In US Department of

Education. US Department of Education.

Natale, K., & Lubniewski, K. (2018). Use of communication and technology among educational

professionals and families. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education,

10(3), 377–384.

National Policy Board for Educational Administration. (2015). Professional standards for

educational leaders (PSEL). http://www.npbea.org/wp-

content/uploads/2017/06/Professional-Standards-for-Educational-Leaders_2015.pdf

Office of Safe and Healthy Students, Synergy Enterprises, Federal Emergency Management

Agency, US Department of Homeland Security, US Department of Justice, Federal

Bureau of Investigation, & US Department of Health and Human Services (2013). Guide

for developing high-quality school emergency operations plans. In Office of Safe and

Healthy Students, US Department of Education. Office of Safe and Healthy Students, US

Department of Education.