[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-583669-105":59,"doc-detail-583669-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","calm-during-crisis-school-principal-approaches-to-crisis-management-during-the-covid-19-pandemic","Calm During Crisis - School Principal Approaches to Crisis Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic","","Principals shaped their COVID-19 pandemic responses using a hierarchy of needs. They first prioritized physical and psychological safety for students and staff, viewing that foundation as essential for classroom success. After basic safety was addressed, leaders confronted complex logistical demands, including securing technology access and establishing reliable communication channels. The brief synthesizes early-pandemic challenges and actions identified by principals and offers practical guidance for educational leaders managing ongoing disruptions.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/calm-during-crisis-school-principal-approaches-to-crisis-management-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/583669/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/calm-during-crisis-school-principal-approaches-to-crisis-management-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/583669.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Jacob","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-01","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"How did principals structure their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Principals framed their actions through a hierarchy of needs, emphasizing that students and staff had to feel physically and psychologically safe before classroom success was possible.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What major challenges did principals face after addressing basic needs?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Even after safety concerns were handled, principals encountered overwhelming logistics, including ensuring technology access and creating clear communication streams.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What topics does the study based on interviews cover?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Researchers interviewed 120 principals from April to August 2020 and asked about pressing issues leaders faced, school and district responses, inequities revealed by the pandemic, and strategies for care and well-being.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},583669,1792167396,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":34,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962084931830,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd","University of Pennsylvania  \nScholarlyCommons  \n\n| CPRE Policy Briefs | Consortium for Policy Research in Education\u003Cbr>(CPRE) |\n| --- | --- |\n| 11-9-2020\u003Cbr>Calm during crisis: school principal approaches to crisis management during the COVID-19 pandemic\u003Cbr>Maya Kaul\u003Cbr>University of Pennsylvania\u003Cbr>Bryan A. VanGronigen University of Delaware\u003Cbr>Nicole S. Simon\u003Cbr>City University of New York\u003Cbr>Follow this and additional works at: [https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_policybriefs](https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_policybriefs)\u003Cbr> Part of the Education Commons |  |\n\nRecommended Citation  \nKaul, Maya; VanGronigen, Bryan A.; and Simon, Nicole S.. (2020) . Calm during crisis: school principal approaches to crisis management during the COVID-19 pandemic. CPRE Policy Briefs.  \nRetrieved from [https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_policybriefs/89](https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_policybriefs/89)  \nThis paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. [https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_policybriefs/89](https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_policybriefs/89)[ ](https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_policybriefs/89)For more information, please contact [repository@pobox.upenn.edu](repository@pobox.upenn.edu).  \nCalm during crisis: school principal approaches to crisis management during the COVID-19 pandemic  \nAbstract  \nPrincipals formulated their responses to the pandemic in terms of a hierarchy of needs: they understood that their students and staff had to feel physically and psychologically safe before they would be successful in the classroom.  \nThis is one of a series of briefs that focused on a‘critical incident’ surrounding school closure and offers pragmatic suggestions to educational leaders as they continue to grapple with the disruptions ofthe pandemic.  \nDisciplines  \nEducation  \nThis policy brief is available at ScholarlyCommons: [https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_policybriefs/89](https://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_policybriefs/89)  \nLeading in Crisis  \nRESEARCH BRIEF  \nCalm During Crisis: School Principal Approaches to Crisis Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic  \nPrincipals formulated their responses to the pandemic in terms of a hierarchy of needs: they understood that their students and staff had to feel physically and psychologically safe before they would be successful in the classroom.  \nINTRODUCTION  \nThe COVID-19 pandemic has presented an unprecedented crisis for schools around the world. Caught in the eye of this storm, school principals have been responsible for leading their schools through this crisis. This brief highlights the challenges that principals identified as most pressing in the early days of the pandemic and how they acted in response.  \nThe story that emerges from our data is that principals formulated their responses to the pandemic in terms of a hierarchy of needs: they understood that their students and staff had to feel physically and psychologically safe before they would be successful in the classroom. Even after these basic needs were addressed, principals faced overwhelming logistical hurdles of ensuring technology access and establishing clear communication streams.  \nAUTHORS  \nMaya Kaul  \nUniversity of Pennsylvania  \nBryan A. VanGronigen  \nUniversity of Delaware  \nNicole S. Simon  \nCity University of New York  \nABOUT THIS STUDY  \nLeading in Crisis documents school and district experiences following school closures in March 2020 due to COVID-19 .  \nFrom April to August 2020, researchers conducted interviews with a diverse sample of 120 principalsin 19 states, including elementary, middle and high school leaders from urban, suburban, and rural areas across the U. S. The interviews asked about the most pressing issues leaders faced; school and district responses; the inequities exposed by the pandemic; and strategies for care and well-being.  \nTo write their brief, teams of 2-4 researchers analyzed a sub-sample of between 23-43 of the interviews (depending on the team size) to arrive at their conclusions and recom","cbCaioi9OTdhadXn","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaioi9OTdhadXn","pdf",629720,14,"English","# Introduction\n## About this study\n## A priority on basic needs\n## Staff wellbeing","[{\"question\":\"How did principals structure their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic?\",\"answer\":\"Principals framed their actions through a hierarchy of needs, emphasizing that students and staff had to feel physically and psychologically safe before classroom success was possible.\"},{\"question\":\"What major challenges did principals face after addressing basic needs?\",\"answer\":\"Even after safety concerns were handled, principals encountered overwhelming logistics, including ensuring technology access and creating clear communication streams.\"},{\"question\":\"What topics does the study based on interviews cover?\",\"answer\":\"Researchers interviewed 120 principals from April to August 2020 and asked about pressing issues leaders faced, school and district responses, inequities revealed by the pandemic, and strategies for care and well-being.\"}]","Calm During Crisis - School Principal Approaches to Crisis Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic | PDF",1792048026,35]