Jodee Blanco will be returning on Thursday, March 2, 2023, to offer PD to principals on Crisis Management. The event will be held at SHMS with two sessions offered for convenience. There will be a morning session from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and an afternoon session from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Lunch will be held from 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. Please RSVP here for the session you will be attending. Keep reading for more information about this presentation.
When crisis strikes, whether it’s a sudden disruption like Covid and the aftermath, a lawsuit initiated by a parent, a scandal that rocks the school community and parish, a dismissal of an important leader or valuable staff member that sets in motion unexpected fall out, or a tragedy that leaves everyone reeling, it’s the principal who often ends up in the center of the storm. Crisis can define a school’s legacy for compassion, tolerance and grace or it can challenge it past its breaking point.
- Knowing how to navigate a crisis effectively and efficiently, while simultaneously being guided by core Catholic values, at a moment when your every nerve is being tested, your resolve reduced to just getting through each day without letting yourself or those who depend upon you down, requires more than character and courage.
- It requires a command of crisis management fundamentals from understanding how to avoid the typical mistakes many leaders make under pressure, the difference between re-active and pro-active positioning and how to master both, to what to say, what not to say and why, documentation policies and procedures for minimizing liability, how to handle media and press, and how to move forward using truth and compassion to light the way.
In this practical, hands-on session that will build upon the skill set from the fall PD, participants will learn the crisis management fundamentals that every Catholic school principal should know. Examples of challenges that other school leaders have faced, what they learned and how to apply those lessons will be shared.
Highlights include:
- Five-minute refresher on key skills from fall session
- The typical mistakes it’s easy to make under pressure and how to avoid them
- Wait and see what happens first or be proactive—how to know
- What to say when a crisis is unfolding, what not to say and why
- Making a checklist
- Training and preparing personnel
- Creating a communication plan not just for you but also for your staff so they know how to respond
- Messaging vigilance
- How to work with all stakeholders to maintain clarity, consistency and calm
- Achieving consensus when opinions differ or tempers flare
- How to dismantle the rumor mill
- Handling social media, the press and the public
- How to address the impact of external crises on the school like the teacher shortage, post-Covid anxiety, shootings and safety fears, among other stressors through Catholic-values based communication strategies
- How to utilize crisis as an opportunity to grow in Christ
- How to prevent future crisis
- How to facilitate confidence and healing in the aftermath
- Other PR practices engaged by seasoned pros during periods of uncertainty
For any principal who has or will face a crisis, this is the session that will provide the tools to endure and grow in faith, patience, and courage.
