Leading in Crisis Learning Institute Brings Fellows Together to Strengthen Our Toolkit

On September 16, PASL welcomed 43 attendees, including 36 Neubauer Fellows spanning Cohorts 2 through 9, to Convene CityView for the Leading in Crisis Learning Institute. The full-day gathering built on more than a year of collaborative work among Fellows, subject-matter experts, and PASL staff, providing an opportunity for learning, reflection, and practical application focused on navigating crises in school communities.

The Institute featured insights from Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel and Robert Runcie, former Superintendent of Broward County Public Schools, who shared their experiences and perspectives on leading through high-stakes crises from public safety and school-system perspectives.

In the afternoon, Fellows applied these insights to realistic school-based scenarios, using the Leading in Crisis Toolkit to navigate complex decisions and explore the critical responsibilities of school leaders before, during, after, and throughout recovery from a crisis.

Fellows also played an important role in refining the Toolkit, sharing feedback on its strengths, identifying gaps, and suggesting opportunities for improvement. Their contributions will help strengthen this practical resource created by school leaders, for school leaders, to better support effective crisis leadership across school communities.