COVID-19 Impact on School Principal Leadership:

The principal’s job has always been challenging and complex, whether in the public or private sector. The job’s difficulties are often compounded by the expectations associated with the role, day-to-day responsibilities, and the internal and external factors influencing the operation of a school.¹

The global COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these complexities. Before 2020, few, if any, school leadership training programs included courses with information about dealing with an emergency with the magnitude of COVID-19, nor were there professional-development courses on executing school closures globally or nationally to ensure school and student safety.²

In early March 2020, I was meeting with a team of school leaders in a northwest U.S. city just two miles from the skilled nursing facility where the first major COVID-19 outbreak in the country occurred. While I sat in the superintendent of schools’ office, he received a phone call from his local district office asking him to immediately develop a strategy for executing a district-wide school closure due to the pandemic threat. The superintendent immediately initiated a conference call with his executive team and district leaders to discuss the request.

Shortly after, I returned to the Andrews University campus in Berrien Springs, Michigan, U.S.A. President Andrea Luxton called all faculty and staff to a general meeting to inform us that, effective immediately, AU would close to keep the virus at bay. Initially, it was believed that the closure would be for two weeks, but after spring break, we were informed that the rest of the semester would be conducted virtually. This was a considerable feat, as not all programs were virtual or online. All university faculty and staff immediately had to learn to use new digital tools to teach and work remotely. No one knew it would be months before we returned to in-person teaching.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact across the globe on schools, parents, students, and especially principals.³ The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has reported on the complex American education landscape since the onset of the pandemic. The findings indicate that the impact was most evident in face-to-face instruction, school technology needs, provision of social and academic support, changes in school staffing, retention of faculty and staff, economic and social impacts, and most importantly, on principals and the ability to retain them.⁴ While research on COVID-19 and education is still limited, what exists underscores that the crisis strongly influenced teaching, the learning process, and, most importantly, in relation to this article, the role of the school principal.⁵

During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, principals encountered challenges such as teacher burnout, the need to play academic catch-up, student/teacher apathy, lack of health-related support, technology problems, and insurmountable financial issues.⁶ The impact on school leaders is still emerging as they adjust to leadership post-pandemic.

Some principals navigated the pandemic well despite these challenges and experienced learning and leadership growth opportunities. They led by learning to innovate, support, and nurture their teams by taking the initiative, being flexible, and acting as creative change makers.⁷ Some principals were able to cultivate environments that empowered teachers and students to engage in the learning process despite the restrictions. These principals embraced Begley’s definition of a successful school leader, one who embraces topics like professionalism, accountability, ethics, and efficient school administration practices when leading in crisis.⁸ As a result, these principals’ leadership decisions were grounded in their intelligence, beliefs, and abilities.⁹

As the educational leadership coordinator at Andrews University, I work with school leaders who navigated the crisis. For many, it was a tiring, wearisome journey with many obstacles. However, many were resilient and determined to be catalysts for change amid adversity. While they often did not have the answers and had to learn on the fly, they were determined to trust God and network with those who could help.

In preparation for this article, I e-mailed six school principals and two North American Division leaders who experienced the COVID-19 pandemic firsthand while serving as educational leaders. I asked them to share their experiences pertaining to the following seven questions:

1. How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact you as a school leader?
2. What adjustments did you have to make pre-, during, and post-COVID-19 as a leader?
3. What was your greatest challenge as a school leader during the pandemic?
4. In what ways did you grow as a school leader through COVID-19?
5. Share the lessons you learned about leading in times of crisis.
6. How did the COVID-19 pandemic define you as a school leader?
7. What advice would you share with school leaders about leading in times of crisis?

These educational leaders’ lived experiences provided rich information about leading in times of crisis that they could share with their colleagues. Below are their responses to questions 1, 3, and 5. An extended version containing their responses to each question is available here [insert external link].

The Impact of COVID-19 on School Leaders

In response to the question, How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact you as a school leader? Rayette Hetland,¹⁰ principal at the Coralwood Adventist Academy in the Alberta Conference, shared that transitioning from in-person to online teaching with little or no training was challenging for all, and having to obtain the necessary training and support educators needed in a very short time heightened their level of anxiety and stress. With limited funding, purchasing and providing computers for school families posed a challenge and caused anxiety. Additional challenges included obtaining Zoom software and creating workable learning schedules with very little training on the platform.

Dealing with the increased frequency of meetings with conference educational superintendents and administrators to ensure that students’ and teachers’ mental health and well-being were addressed was also challenging. Sanitizing and cleaning the school’s facilities daily once students returned to school was highly time-consuming. Developing a safety plan to accommodate students’ entering and exiting the school building once in-person learning resumed was a change that had to happen immediately, with little time to plan, and changed the school’s entire culture. However, for Principal Hetland, the most significant impact was adjusting the entire school calendar, which was filled with many after-school activities, to adapt to the pandemic.

David Elias, principal of Prairie Adventist Christian eSchool in the Alberta Conference, shared that the COVID-19 crisis made him re-evaluate his priorities as a school leader and refocus on what was truly important for students and teachers. It sometimes pushed him to make difficult decisions and pivot in a way he had never done before. However, it also helped him realize that he had to be willing to let God lead, especially when entering the unknown.

Jordan Wirtz, principal at the Okanagan Christian School in the British Columbia Conference, said that the COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted him as a new principal. He stated, “My first year as principal began with remote learning due to COVID-19. Not only was I trying to navigate this new role, with policies and procedures that consumed my day, but I also needed to develop COVID-19 policies and procedures and follow new government health and safety guidelines with no training at all.”

Leidamae Solijon Muse, principal at Fraser Valley Adventist Academy in the British Columbia Conference, said, “COVID-19 was a time of major testing for me. It forced me to look at how we ‘did school,’ then reinvent and re-envision ways to provide the same level of service but through a different lens and with different tools. It forced me to walk the fine line with my words and practices so I did not alienate any of the people I serve. It was a testing of the organizational culture that I had been tending with my staff and with my parent community. I had to step up to provide calm direction and guidance even in uncertainty. I controlled the thermostat on how my staff would handle what they were asked to do and how they felt about the way forward. How I spoke and addressed a situation transferred onto my staff. It was also a testing of the larger organizational structure in terms of my relationship with my conference.”

Serge Gariepy, principal at Georgia Cumberland Academy, in the Georgia-Cumberland Conference, recalled that his relationships with families in the school were impacted. He stated, “Even though many families disagreed with some of our specific decisions, most families appreciated our consistent approach to safety, health, and education through all of the COVID-19 protocols. I learned that we can’t make everyone happy, but consistency, with kindness, is key in ensuring successful leadership.”

Elisa Maragoto, superintendent of schools for the New Jersey Conference, said: “COVID-19 reinforced the reality of how fragile we are as humans and directly impacted me as a leader by forcing me to reinvent myself. In other words, how I communicated, brought support to my teachers, students, and parents, and remained present in my school community while the world went into lockdown.”

Stephen Bralley, director of secondary education and accreditation for the North American Division (NAD), was impacted by the isolation caused by the pandemic. He shared, “The pandemic immediately isolated my work. We pivoted to Zoom, and that made it possible to maintain work. What we found is that we could maintain current projects and meet emergency planning, but it became difficult to tackle future goal planning. This was probably less about the use of Zoom and more about the unknowns of COVID-19. There were many times leaders were unable to plan large future goals because there were so many immediate unknowns and so much energy went into pivoting and adapting to the reality of local health department messages.”

Arne Nielsen, then vice president for education at the North American Division,¹¹ stated that understanding the concept of remote online learning had a significant impact. He noted, “While we have seven distance-learning programs in the NAD, the biggest takeaway I had was that principals and lead teachers had to discover the differences between Distance Learning and Remote Online Learning when COVID-19 hit. . . . Educators had to find a way to provide learning remotely, sometimes learning from students on the fly. At times, it was messy and confusing for teachers, parents, and students; however, the goal for principals was to provide learning in a remote safe environment, not wanting to miss half of a school year of teaching. It slowed down the learning process but did not stop it. It was received with mixed feelings and emotions by all. This took exceptional communication and trust to pull off.”

Nielsen also noted that “some school leaders discovered inequities in families who did not have the ability to switch to remote learning immediately. This created an opportunity for leaders to find resources to ensure all students had access to technology. So, there was a priority shift.” He observed that those who were trained in distance learning were able to adapt quickly. Many schools saw significant increases in enrollment, which also brought about class size challenges. Overall, according to Nielsen, in the NAD, the “Early Childhood through grade 12 Adventist system realized an attrition of 6,000 students during a two-year period post-pandemic. Today, those numbers have rebounded with a slight increase over pre-COVID-19 enrollment.”

Challenges Faced by School Leaders During COVID-19

When responding to the question, What was your greatest challenge as a school leader through COVID-19? Rayette Hetland noted, “keeping teachers motivated, as this was very new to them. Never having had to teach online before meant that this was something our teachers needed one-to-one assistance with. Providing that assistance was difficult because it was new for everyone. When school resumed, the teachers noticed huge gaps in the children’s learning, and it seemed they were a whole year behind. This alarmed the teachers, so extra support had to be put in place so students could go to the next grade and still be successful. Balancing the need to prioritize health and safety with the educational and emotional needs of students was a challenge.”

David Elias responded, “My greatest challenge as a school leader was finding the balance of providing for the academic and social needs of the staff and students, while also wanting to maintain a healthy environment at the school. We were keenly aware that our role in education extended beyond academic learning, but it was to provide a safe haven that allowed students to grow, learn, and be surrounded by love. It was an incredible challenge to be faced with the unknown and needing to be more flexible than ever. Each week it was a new requirement, new protocol, and new change that caused us to pivot on a regular basis. There was no handbook on how to handle the changes, the lack of staff, the quarantines, the online/hybrid learning, and the tense political atmosphere.”

Jordan Wirtz stated that his greatest challenge through the pandemic was “working with such a diverse, polarized group of staff and students. I have worked harder as a leader to seek understanding, remain flexible to change, and try to insulate my school from contentious issues happening in the greater community.”

Leidamae Solijon Muse shared that her greatest challenge was the “disciplinary issues on Zoom, which were not easy to deal with. However, keeping my team sane during the tumultuous time was the biggest need for me. I knew that I would not be able to do ‘everything’ if my teachers could not do what I needed them to do or what their students needed them to do.

“Leading with courage and speaking life, strength, and peace in uncertainly was what we all needed. Looking for, finding, and being a genuine community of support in a novel way was the greatest challenge. Not necessarily because it was difficult, but because it was so important to our success and the success of our students. We needed to keep grounded and centered so we could then be strong enough to help our students and their families.”

Serge Gariepy noted that “relationships were strained during the strict protocols of the COVID-19 era. We required masks, which many of our students (and their families) disagreed with. There was significant ‘COVID-19 fatigue’ among our staff in enforcing masks and other health precautions (temperature checks, social distancing, etc.). As a leader, it was so difficult navigating this along with the political issues that conflicted with the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) guidelines.”

Elias Maragoto stated, “My biggest challenge was balancing it all. During COVID-19, I was also teaching two math classes. While teaching, keeping up with communication, and, most importantly, remaining positive and strong, I could not afford, as a leader, to dwindle in courage. My teachers, students, and parents were looking to me for encouragement, guidance, and support. Keeping it up all through COVID-19 at times was exhausting mentally, emotionally, and even physically. But knowing that God is the source of my strength is what kept me going one day at a time and some days, one moment at a time.”

Stephen Bralley responded that his greatest challenge was the isolation he experienced. He emphasized, “[Because our] work depends on cultivating trust to grow connections and influence, the isolation of COVID-19 cut us off from the most effective tools for relational interaction, presence.”

Lessons Learned About Leading in Times of Crisis

When asked to Share the lessons you learned about leading in times of crisis, Rayette Hetland said, “Trying to keep everyone happy with the ‘new rules’ was truly a moment where I had to present the unfamiliar rules with enthusiasm and clarity. ‘We may not like it, but this is what we must do. Let’s put our own feelings aside and do what is best for our students.’ Being resilient through all the challenges and maintaining a positive mindset was my greatest lesson learned.”

David Elias stated, “During a crisis, priorities change, and as a leader, you have to be willing to adapt, adjust, and shift to meet the changing needs. Crisis brings out true character. It can be easy to lead with love, with gentleness, and with excellence when things are going great. However, during crisis, your true leadership is tested, and you find out where your foundation is built. For me, this crisis emphasized my abilities and weaknesses. However, it is in my weakness that God’s strength is revealed and my need for Him to show me the leader He wants me to be.”

Jordan Wirtz observed that “most people just want to be heard; even if they don’t agree with your decision, if they feel heard, they will typically still support you. I have a duty to the government in how I run a school, but it is the people who I work with every day that I give most of my attention to. Many times, what the people want and what the government mandates are misaligned. God put me in my role for such a time as this.”

Leidamae Solijon Muse realized that people look to leaders during times of crisis, especially when the path forward seems uncertain. She said, “I stayed informed so I could speak intelligently, and I knew I was part of a larger team that was navigating this together. It was important for me to take a breath to pause when I felt overwhelmed. When that happened, I knew I needed to spend more time at the foot of the Cross so He could remind me of His faithfulness. Responding was so much more effective in providing clarity and dispelling fear instead of reacting.”

Serge Gariepy observed: “I learned a long time ago that the most important things about working at the high school level were to love Jesus, love teenagers, and be consistent. I think the COVID-19 pandemic taught us to double down on those three but to also add a fourth, Communicate! Crises amplify inconsistencies. Thus, leaders need to be consistent and communicate often.”

Elisa Maragoto acknowledged that one of the greatest lessons about leading in times of crisis is that you cannot lead under fear: “Fear will blind and paralyze you. When people look at you for courage and strength, one cannot buckle down by uncertainty. I moved under ‘the name of Jesus.’ That was and continues to be the source of my strength.”

Stephen Bralley underscored that “leading in times of crisis by its nature is chaotic and full of unknowns. These things can consume people in the immediacy of the moment. There are two common outcomes because of this: freeze or frenzy. Freezing, in this case, often creates ‘vapor lock’—we are unable to process what is happening around us, and we don’t make any decisions—or we get tunnel vision and only focus on one aspect of the crisis. Frenzy, on the other hand, drives us to ‘do something,’ anything to make us feel like we are acting. Yet many of these actions are disconnected from the reality of the situation, creating more chaos. Leading in crisis requires clarity of purpose, that clarity is only available with deliberate planning long before the crisis. With that clarity, a leader is able to prioritize actions.”

“A leader who is able to lead in times of crisis is able to rely on ‘cultivated trust.’ Long before the crisis, a leader needs to cultivate an atmosphere of trust. This trust isn’t necessarily built around always being right; instead, it is built on being consistently fair and honest—especially when mistakes have been made. With clarity created by planning, a leader needs to remain flexible. Crises are filled with the unknown, so a leader needs to remain flexible to adapt to new information.

“Finally, even in crisis, leaders must find time for contemplation. To see problems in proper perspective, there must be space for them to contemplate. This is one of the hardest things to do, as both inner and outer voices demand immediate action. A leader must have the wisdom to triage to create time to contemplate the situation.”

Arne Nielsen reflected, “What key things did school leaders learn from COVID-19 about dealing with crisis and adversity? Agility, adaptability, and flexibility. Also, the importance of communication and the need for all educators to have technology skills.” Nielsen emphasized that God ordained Adventist education through His prophet Ellen G. White, adding that: “It was a blessing from God that Adventist students still had Adventist education during the pandemic, either through homeschooling, remote learning, or distance learning.”

Final Thoughts

Earlier on in the article, we reviewed the limited research on the impact the global pandemic had on school principals.¹² We noted that the principal’s job is complex, and the pandemic exacerbated the angst. The research reveals that during and post-pandemic, educational leaders dealt with having to navigate the crisis on the fly, which involved scheduling remote and virtual learning, dealing with financial challenges, technology needs, retention and staffing issues, study/faculty apathy, and academic catch-up, as well as social and emotional challenges, district mandates, and teacher and principal shortages and retention.¹³

In this article, six principals and two NAD educational leaders shared their experiences in leadership during the global COVID-19 pandemic. They endured many of the challenges revealed by research about the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on educational leaders. However, these administrators not only endured the crisis but also thrived amid adversity as respected, trusted, and valued leaders in educational ministry.

The respondents’ lived experiences are a testament to what it means to lead in times of crisis. They relied heavily on their faith and embraced their calling. They were innovative, learned new technology platforms to navigate the crisis, secured resources and funding to sustain their schools, navigated through social, emotional, and academic needs, and heightened their communication skills. They committed their lives to educational ministry by partnering with God to do His work and are appreciated for the significant contributions they have made at their schools through the crisis.

This article has been peer reviewed.

Responses to the interview questions have been condensed. Minor editing has been done, but the verbal style has been retained. An extended version is available here.

Janet Ledesma

Janet Ledesma, PhD, is Associate Dean and Professor in the School of Leadership at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, U.S.A. She also serves as Educational Leadership Coordinator for the program. Dr. Ledesma worked as a principal in the Seventh-day Adventist system of education for almost 30 years and has taught at the elementary, secondary, and tertiary levels. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Atlantic Union College (Lancaster, Massachusetts, U.S.A.), as well as a Master of Arts in Teaching, and a PhD in Leadership from Andrews University. Her research focuses on spiritual leadership, school leadership, networking, collaboration, mentoring, leadership development, and qualitative research methods. She has published on topics such as principalship, resilience, ethics, and spiritual leadership. Dr. Ledesma is the recipient of the Daniel A. Augsburger Excellence in Teaching Award (2015) and the Andrews University James Nevins Andrews Medallion for Spiritual Leadership, Scholarship, and Humanitarianism (2023). She formerly served as the Chair of the Andrews University Faculty Senate and is a site team reviewer for the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), ensuring continuous improvement of educator preparation programs.