Today’s post is the latest in a series offering opinions from educators about what they should be doing—if anything—in response to the national political environment.

Today, a district and a school administrator offer advice to their colleagues.

‘Leading in Public Education Is ... Chaotic’

PJ Caposey is the superintendent of schools for Oregon CUSD 220 and a former Illinois State Superintendent of the Year and a runner-up for the National Superintendent of the Year through the American Association of School Administrators:

If you lead long enough, chaos will find you. The reality of leadership is that uncertainty, crisis, and high-stakes decisions are not anomalies—they are inevitable. Whether it’s a personnel crisis, a public relations nightmare, or an unforeseen challenge that threatens your organization’s stability, leaders must be ready to respond. Or to be blunt, leading in public education given our current political context is, well, chaotic.

The difference between good and great leaders isn’t how they perform in ideal conditions; it’s how they navigate the storm when things are falling apart around them. Here are the five principles I have found essential for leading in times of chaos:

1. Clarity Kills Chaos

In moments of crisis, people look for certainty amid uncertainty. As a leader, your job is to provide clarity—even if the answers are incomplete or uncomfortable. Chaos breeds confusion, and confusion creates paralysis. Leaders must cut through the noise with direct, transparent, and actionable communication.

This doesn’t mean pretending to have all the answers, but it does mean being clear about what is known, what is unknown, and what needs to happen next. Silence is a vacuum, and vacuums get filled with speculation and fear. Control the message, or the message will control you.

2. Control Your Emotions—Then Lead

Leadership in chaos is not about pretending everything is fine. It is about recognizing how your emotions impact those around you. If you panic, your team will panic. If you become reactive, your organization will become unstable.

I believe leaders must process their emotions in private, regulate their responses, and then step forward with composure. This is not new, cutting-edge thinking. This is simply understanding that we do not have to execute our default response. We can be thoughtful. We can be strategic.

This doesn’t mean you ignore stress or anxiety—it means you manage it so it doesn’t manage you. The best leaders I have worked with have the ability to absorb stress without transferring it to others.

3. Play Chess, Not Checkers

In chaos, it’s easy to become consumed by what is urgent at the expense of what is important. The difference between reactive leadership and strategic leadership is perspective. Short-term fires will always exist, but leaders must keep their eyes on the long-term game.

You don’t get to ignore today’s problems, but you do have to solve them in a way that doesn’t create bigger problems tomorrow. Leaders who panic sacrifice strategy for survival. Leaders who plan turn survival into opportunity.

4. People First, Always

No matter how chaotic a situation becomes, leadership is still about people. You can develop the best response plan in the world, but if you lose your people in the process, you have failed as a leader.

In high-stress situations, it’s tempting to prioritize efficiency over empathy, but that is a mistake. Teams don’t stay together because of policies—they stay together because of trust, relationships, and shared purpose. Chaos can either fracture or strengthen an organization. The difference is how leaders treat people when pressure is at its peak.

Final Thought

Leaders don’t get to choose when chaos strikes, but they do get to choose how they respond. Those who communicate clearly, regulate their emotions, think strategically, prioritize people, and take decisive action will not only survive chaos—they will come out stronger because of it.

No one remembers the leader who panicked. People remember the leader who stood tall, brought people together, and turned crisis into opportunity.

JUST. KEEP. LEADING.

‘The RICE Method’

Glasher Robinson is a principal with the Hertford County school district in North Carolina:

While we made it through the height of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the virus and its impact on educational outcomes are still lurking. In addition, we are facing the threat of the United States Department of Education being eliminated, concerns of immigration officials coming to our schools, increased prevalence of mental health challenges and anxiety, and high teacher-turnover rates with limited qualified candidate availability. We are leading in unprecedented times.

As a fellow K-12 administrator, I recommend implementation of the RICE method in our leadership approach. While the acronym RICE typically stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation, I have redefined it to represent relationships, ingenuity, communication, and engagement.

Relationships

Relationships are the lifeblood that sustains the heart of our schools. Relationships serve as the essential connective tissue that ensures schools operate effectively, irrespective of circumstances both within and beyond our control. Fostering relationships requires intentional effort, as they seldom develop naturally. However, the approach to building bonds among stakeholders should be crafted to ensure it feels genuine and not coerced.

Relationships are cultivated through daily interactions, such as greeting individuals by name. As you learn more about them, incorporating this deeper knowledge into your conversations further strengthens these connections.

Ingenuity

As leaders, it is imperative that we employ ingenuity to address challenges and achieve our school objectives. As a millennial, I find that one of my most effective strategies for enhancing my influence is leveraging technology to maintain organization, communication, data management, professional development, and instructional leadership. I rely heavily on calendar alerts and online platforms such as Google Workspace to boost my productivity. I have developed a habit of writing tasks in my planner and on paper calendars, then transferring these items to my electronic calendar and setting phone alarms to remind me of upcoming tasks.

A colleague introduced me to Magic School, an AI tool, and it has been a game changer! Magic School assists me in planning professional development, restorative reflection, and presentations. While it does not complete the work for me, it serves as a valuable brainstorming tool, saving me time and enhancing my efficiency.

Communication

Communication reflects the school climate. Effective communication is essential for fostering a positive school climate, as it promotes transparency, trust, and unity among all stakeholders. It involves clarity and consistency, with a commitment to communicating early and often. Leveraging technology can enhance communication efforts, making information more accessible.

A proactive approach helps manage the narrative and prevent misinformation. As a school leader, employing various communication methods, such as emails, newsletters, meetings (both face-to-face and virtual), and social media, ensures that information reaches everyone in the way they best understand and engage with it.

Engagement

Engagement extends beyond students; as principals, we must foster high levels of engagement among staff, parents, and the community. School leadership is inherently collaborative, involving all stakeholders. The greatest success is achieved when everyone understands our purpose, is informed about our instructional and cultural expectations, and embraces shared accountability. We must take time to acknowledge and celebrate learning experiences, successes, and growth.

The key components of relationships, ingenuity, and communication enhance engagement. Distributive leadership serves as a portal for engagement and capacity building. You may not have recognized them as such, but your school leadership team, school committees, professional learning communities, mentor teachers, student government organizations, Parent Teacher Student Associations or Parent Teacher Student Organizations, and principal advisory committees (whether for students, parents, and teachers) all exemplify forms of distributive leadership. Schools must be welcoming spaces for all stakeholders, and to achieve our best, we need everyone’s involvement. Strategic leadership will guide us in determining the most effective ways to engage all stakeholders.

We must rejuvenate our school environment to foster shared accountability among all stakeholders, ensuring the creation of positive learning experiences that prepare our students for postsecondary life, whether they choose a career, college, the workforce, or military enlistment. Our goal should be to cultivate an atmosphere where everyone looks forward to coming to school and feels reluctant to leave, because there is a profound sense of belonging.

Thanks to PJ and Glasher for sharing her experiences and advice.

I wrote the first, second and third posts in this series on how educators should respond to recent Trump administration actions.

Morgan Polikoff wrote about education research and researchers.

Christie Nold and Sarah Cooper also shared advice about social studies.

Mary Beth Hertz discussed teaching media literacy.

Christina Torres Cawdery offered recommendations to English teachers.

Zaretta Hammond provided ideas to practitioners of culturally responsive teaching.

Students shared their own perspectives.

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at lferlazzo@epe.org. When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo.

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