Benchmark- Adverse Situations

Michael Underhill
EAD 536 –Strategic Leadership and Management in the Principalship
Dr. Denise Geier
February 1, 2023
Management and Operational Systems
We have had days in central Illinois where temperatures get dangerous and provide for

hazardous conditions and situations for our students and staff. However, I would not expect to

have same heat conditions that Arizona has based on region and humidity. One of the first things

I need to do before making any decisions is to talk with my maintenance director and get a better

understanding of the situation. Is there any chance of getting the air back and working or would

we need to get someone in to repair it. Once I had that information I could move on and start

getting a hold of my superintendent and making sure the communication with the chain of

command was in place. I would also be reaching out to the transportation office to see what the

procedure was for getting buses to the school to get students home safely.

The main decision to be made is whether we will call school early that day or if we are going to

work around the heat and find alternative ways to keep the students cool. From there, decisions

need to be made as far as when we will dismiss, how the students will get home, how we

communicate to all stakeholders about the change of the school day.

Human, Fiscal, and Technological Resources

Upon notification of air systems not working, I would have communicated with the staff that

there was an issue and that they can do what is necessary within their classrooms to keep

students cool. Allowing for more drinking fountain visits and breaks throughout the class period,

opening windows, getting fans running etc. to combat the rising temperatures outside and in their

classrooms. Once the decision was made to cancel the rest of the day, I would enlist the help of

the teachers in making contact home. A school-wide message would be sent out but if teachers

are able to communicate and get a hold of parents and the parents feel like picking their students

up, that takes a little stress away from those who are left in the building. If parents slowly began
to pick their children up, that would mean a decrease in students who remained in the building to

keep cool and less of a transportation nightmare as well.

I would also begin working with community members and see if there was anyone willing to

jump in and be available to help with donations of fans or water to help combat the rising

temperatures. A valuable resource for dealing with extreme heat is available to us before the

incident occurs. According to an article from the Connecticut Department of Health (2023), if

you know that there is a possibility for extreme heat, administrators should have communication

with the parents to send water with the students and dress them in light weight clothes to help

with overheating.

Safety and Welfare of Students and Staff

Upon conducting research, legal cases involving how to handle situations like this are rare and

hard to find. However, each school is responsible for monitoring the heat index when necessary.

This plays a large role in regular school days when it comes to athletics. According to an article

from Thrun Law Group in Michigan, schools need to begin providing more breaks and more

access to water and keeping athletes hydrated once the temperature reaches a certain threshold.

Also, “once a heat index of 104 degrees is met, all athletic events should be canceled” (Thrun

Law Group, 2019). This is to ensure that students are kept safe and to watch to ensure that signs

of heat stroke are not missed.

One district policy that exists within my current organization is that all classes are to be held

within the building, meaning that teachers should not be taking their students outside and letting

them have “free time” if it is not already a part of their daily bell schedule. Obviously when heat

is an issue, you would not want your students and staff baking in the sun but if there was an area

that the school had access to with shade or just having the ability to be outside where wind and
clouds can cause a temperature change, I think that would be something that the administration

would need to take into consideration as they made their decision on how to handle the rest of

the day. I remember growing up there was a similar situation within our middle school and our

grade level turned it into a field day. We had teachers who ran and bought water balloons and

coolers full of water and gatorade and healthy snacks and we spent close to an entire day outside.

They created different stations for the classes to travel in and had different activities to keep us

engaged to make the day go by faster. Looking back, I’m sure they wished for the day to be over

just as quickly as us students.

Collaboration with Faculty and Community

When an event like this occurs, administrators must act quickly to make accurate decisions that

affect a variety of stakeholders within the organization. Students, parents, and staff are the

immediate stakeholders that need to be considered. Providing effective communication to all

parties is crucial within a short period of time. Principals are also responsible for communicating

with the superintendent and, in some cases, the board of education. Transportation arrangements

need to be made as well as reaching out to any community members that the school has access to

if they are looking for supplies such as water and fans that were discussed previously.

Solution and Rationale

After gathering all the potential information needed and discussing it with my administration

team, I would make the decision to call the school day and have an early release. By the time that

transportation could be arranged, and communications sent out, the day would be over halfway

over and in states like Illinois, once a school day is over halfway over, it can be counted as a full

day of attendance for students. There is no fear of having to make up any time at the end of the

year and the safety of the staff and students becomes the number one concern.
Once the decision had been made, I would first begin by filling in the staff and communicating

how the dismissal process would be taking place. I would remind them to take care of their

students and keep an eye out for possible heat sickness. I would also say that if they were able to

contact parents and inform them of the process that it would be a good time to begin calling. I

would have my front-office staff formulate a message that would go out to parents via phone and

email and work with collaborating bus pick-ups for the students who needed transportation. I

would also be talking with community members asking for any donations of water bottles or fans

to be placed within the school until dismissal. I would send my assistant principals throughout

the building to continue to monitor the students and staff and have them alert me if anything

serious arose. Depending on the size of the community, I would also reach out to local EMS/Fire

services and make them aware of the situation and see if there was a stand-by medical procedure

we needed to follow just in case many students and staff instantly were struck with heat stroke.
 References
Extreme heat and schools. CT.gov. (2023). Retrieved February 1, 2023, from
https://portal.ct.gov/DPH/Communications/Crisis-and-Emergency-Risk-Communication/
Extreme-Heat-and-Schools
Surviving the heat without air conditioning. Surviving the Heat Without Air Conditioning |
Thrun Law. (2019, September 23). Retrieved February 1, 2023, from
https://www.thrunlaw.com/content/surviving-heat-without-air-conditioning