COVID-19: A Leadership Reflection – Did Any Good Come of It?

It seems slightly perverse to ask if anything good came of Covid 19? I purposely did not ask whether we learnt anything from it, as that is too wide and obvious a question, too personal and too subjective, all at the same time. And of course we did, we had to, and we had to adapt quickly.

We all still have vivid memories of where we were incarcerated in 2020 and 2021, longer in some countries, and we all bear the personal scars from losing our freedom, a portion of our lives, and, for some, losing loved ones, friends, colleagues and members of our school communities.

I finished my last overseas directorship the year before Covid started, and I have always said that I was grateful for not having to lead a school through Covid, though by then I was on a school board so was not at all divorced from the situation. I remember being very resentful of the percentage of my life being lost, of holiday bookings and travel plans being cancelled. In this context it is worth considering the percentage of their lives that the children we have in our schools today have lost.

After Covid most international schools struggled with a contraction in student numbers, as people moved back to their home countries. As a consultancy we have seen the financial effects of this, and though for many the students have returned for some they have not.

From an educational point of view certain things were apparent from the start, for example, the need for additional Math coaching, which led to many schools appointing additional Math staff, positions which many schools have retained. Other matters run deeper.

The latest research - and please bear in mind that this will not apply to every school, and that some conclusions can be sensationalistic - states that uncertainty, disruption, increased screen use and crippling anxiety are some of the legacies of the pandemic school closures.

Research says that Covid babies are now five and struggling to meet basic developmental milestones. School readiness has been an issue in many schools, especially over the last couple of years. There is still a measurable gap in Math attainment in many schools despite the additional coaching. 32% of school leaders interviewed say the current Grade 4 cohort, who were at the start of their schooling when the pandemic started, is the worst affected by learning loss. Poor behavior throughout the grade levels has had the greatest negative impact on pupils’ learning, and many behavioral incidents are linked to socialization issues caused by the pandemic. Mental health issues are also linked.

Another issue is that non-attendance, often an issue in international schools in any case, has risen in many schools. Suddenly there are parents who no longer see the value of school in the same way, and children are taking more days out of school than before Covid. There is a need to encourage students and parents to see the value of school, and to help them understand the impact that prolonged absence can have on a child’s learning and wellbeing.

The one thing that as leaders and business managers we do not seem to do, however, is to reflect and consider, despite the lingering negative legacies of Covid, whether the epidemic led to any improvements in schools. Also to understand that many new practices have a positive and negative side to them.

Systems for distance learning obviously had to be utilized. Many of us had been following good practice, or maybe instructions from our regional organizations, to create such programs, but many schools in more stable locations did not have a robust and comprehensive offering in place, and those that did had often not fully tested them. In truth many of us could never see a situation of need actually arising, and a big problem was that the staff who we needed to create such new systems had no perception of need either.

A knock-on effect from this is that whenever a school has to be closed now, maybe for a snow day, a building issue, or suchlike, distance learning is often expected to be initialized immediately, adding to staff workload.

While school leadership concentrated on the teaching and learning business managers were focusing on how to maintain the school financially. There were the obvious pressures from withdrawals, and parents not wanting to pay full fees for distance learning. We all remember those arguments. New budgets were produced like clockwork, and savings made wherever possible. However, there were not only the normal costs but additional costs too, such as some schools having to arrange for temporary accommodation for teachers not even in the country.

In addition, for those schools who did not already have cloud-based systems there were significant pressures and technical issues concerned with running the finances and administration of the school remotely.

The need for administrative staff to work from home has led to a greater wish from many, if not most, for more flexible working arrangements. This, of course is a factor across all industries, not just education. On one hand it is now more acceptable and accepted to work from home regularly, on another there is a downside for not having your staff in the office all the time.

More flexible working arrangements are something that is desired and often raised by teachers too. This is a separate issue than coping with the effect of part time contracts - many of us have suffered with this and continue to do so - but more aligned with the (legal) working practice in several countries of teachers just attending school to teach the lessons that they are timetabled for. This is a headache for school leaders in terms of student supervision, teachers being openly available to students, and arranging meetings. It is also a matter which affects the school ethos, and you can argue it is against the international school model that we hold dear.

We all got used to using online platforms for meetings. The school where I am now vice chair of governors still holds all its sub-committee meetings online, thereby valuing members time, whilst also valuing the collegiality of full governors' meetings.

We all got more used to receiving training online. This may be another nail in the coffin of conferences, but on this matter, I am not sure. Over the last 20 years I firstly saw a general decline in conference attendance as schools focused on bringing targeted experts into school, and then online courses, in place of sending staff to conferences, but in more recent years I have seen more of a resurgence based on the value of a varied program of input, networking, job-a-likes and suchlike. You will all have your own opinions on this.

We got more used to interviewing people online. Nowadays a much larger percentage of recruitment is done online, without face-to-face contact, especially for positions lower than principal, where the final 2 - 3 candidates may be interviewed in person. Could job fairs be a thing of the past? Will recruitment agencies in the future just provide CV’s and maybe video bios of candidates for recruiters to view and then carry out interviews online?

Things may never quite be the same again, the world has definitely shifted. We still have some way to go, students and staff, to recover from the issues that Covid 19 and lockdown created. On a plus side I feel that in the end we will emerge from this more resilient and with better systems in place for learning and for administration. It will, however, be a long process.

But what more can we do?

First and foremost, ensure that your risk management and school continuity planning are comprehensive and robust. Safeguarding procedures must be rigorously applied, particularly in the context of online recruitment, remote teaching, and digital communication. Future planning should also prioritize the secure and effective remote operation of all critical systems. And finally, allow yourselves the flexibility to think creatively challenging times have brought not only disruption but also new opportunities for innovation and growth.