Leading Through the Unexpected: How Schools Build Everyday Resilience
Gregory A. Hedger, Director, The International School Yangon (ISY)
Sandy Sheppard, Director of Advancement, The International School Yangon (ISY)
In International schools, our environments can change quickly, whether through political shifts, natural disasters, health concerns, or unexpected events in the community. After many years of leading schools in different countries, we have learned that a school’s ability to manage difficult moments is shaped long before a crisis appears. The culture, relationships, and leadership habits already in place do much of the heavy lifting.
Why Resilience Starts Before Anything Goes Wrong
One of the first steps is having a shared understanding of what a crisis actually is. Sometimes in leadership, we deal with some form of crisis every day; however, there are also those crises that challenge us further, the kind that disrupt learning, threaten stability, or require difficult decisions. Clear definitions help keep people grounded. When everyone understands what counts as a crisis, they are better able to respond in a calm and coordinated way.
Plans Are Important, but Flexibility Matters Even More
A detailed plan is not sufficient for preparedness. We also need to build the ability to adapt when things unfold differently than expected. At ISY, our leadership team uses internal tools to explore different scenarios and consider how situations might develop. We do not share these tools publicly because they need to remain flexible. What we do share is our commitment to thoughtful and informed decision-making. This helps the community understand that although we have systems in place, we must also be ready to adjust when reality shifts.
Trust as the Anchor During Uncertain Times
Trust is one of the strongest stabilizing forces a school can have. Even with limited information, the community feels more secure when leaders communicate clearly and honestly. At ISY, we make a distinction between clarity and transparency. Complete transparency is not always possible, but clarity, explaining what we know, what we do not know, and why, helps maintain trust. This becomes especially important during fast-changing events.
Keeping Plans Alive Through Practice and Reflection
A crisis plan is only helpful when it is understood, practiced, and reviewed regularly. New staff need to know their roles, drills reveal gaps, and reflection after each practice or real event helps us improve. At ISY, we routinely ask what worked, what caused confusion, and how people responded. Over time, these kinds of reflections build a shared memory within the school that serves us in times of crisis.
Accreditation as a Source of Stability and Guidance
Accreditation frameworks such as WASC play an important role in supporting crisis readiness. They require schools to maintain strong governance, document their procedures, and review systems regularly. Our recent reaccreditation process at ISY prepared us well, ensuring that our plans were up to date and that our leadership teams had already considered a range of challenges. During the Myanmar coup, this preparation was invaluable in helping us remain steady.
Preparing People, Not Only Systems
A resilient school invests in its people. Training students and staff helps them respond calmly when real uncertainty arises. Just as important is learning from others. International school leaders often turn to one another for advice and support, and these relationships provide a strong network of shared experience that helps everyone navigate difficult times.
Although crises differ from one school to another, the leadership lessons are often very similar. When schools share what happened, how they responded, and what they learned, they strengthen not only their community but also the wider international school network.
Confidence Through Community
In the end, resilience is about creating the conditions that allow people to move forward with confidence, even when circumstances are uncertain. We have often referred to this as an ‘Island of Sanity’. Schools that invest in relationships, communication, and shared responsibility build momentum that carries them through difficult moments and helps ensure that their community feels confident that they offer a safe space. With each challenge, the community becomes more connected, more prepared, and more capable.
To support international school heads, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Academy for International School Heads (AISH) have partnered to develop resources for crisis leadership. As a part of this project, we plan to feature stories from school heads who have led during a crisis. If you are a head who would be interested in sharing your story, please contact Gregory Hedger at ghedger@acswasc.org for more information.