Lessons identified by the Joplin School Leadership after responding to a Catastrophic Tornado

Abstract

Natural disasters affect millions of lives each year devastating educational institutions and their communities. This case study identifies lessons learned by school leadership in the aftermath of a devastating tornado that destroyed one‐third of the city, injured over 1,000 people, and took the lives of 158 people including members of the school community. The data were collected through personal interviews with 10 district administrators and educators who were directly affected by the crisis. The findings presented identify a set of lessons learned that may guide other educational institutions to be more prepared in a crisis situation including the importance of hiring expert help, creating a plan to receive resources, and establishing practices of communication that support communities in crisis situations.

Does non‐destructive earthquake experience affect risk perception and motivate preparedness?

“…We expected that the “experience‐perception‐preparedness nexus” might differ between people who had experienced destructive earthquakes versus non‐destructive earthquakes. The main logic was that people may learn from not only destructive disasters (Goswick et al ) but also small disasters (Voss & Wagner, ) and may form perceptions of earthquake risk, self‐efficacy, and the value of preparedness using such heuristics as availability and representativeness (Siegrist & Gutscher, ; Tversky & Kahneman, ), also see reviews by (Tierney, pp.18–19). For example, previous non‐destructive earthquake experience may contribute to a false sense of security, overestimation of the ability to cope with earthquakes and underestimation of the value of earthquake preparedness (Wachinger et al, ).…”

Analysing the dynamics of crisis leadership in higher education: A study of racial incidents at the University of Missouri

“…The need for building and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with key stakeholder groups in order for an organization to succeed has been consistently articulated (Fearn‐Banks, ; Freeman, ; Goswick, Macgregor, Hurst, Wall, & White, ; Grunig, ; Kim, Hung‐Baesecke, Yang, & Grunig, ; Ledingham, ; Lewis, ). Davies, Chun, da Silva, and Roper () define stakeholders as “any individuals or groups who may benefit from or be harmed by the actions of the organization” (p. 58).…”

“…In a case study that examined how school officials responded when a tornado hit its community, Goswick et al. () found that coalitions built prior to the occurrence of the crisis were instrumental in the ability to respond during and after the crisis. Once the organization is involved in the crisis, the authors emphasize the need for truthful and effective communication through many modes of communication to convey that the organization is supportive of the needs of stakeholders.…”

“…The effectiveness of any response is mitigated by the nature of the transgression (Coombs, ; Dutta & Pullig, ; Fortunato, ; Goswick et al., ; Sohn & Lariscy, ). Obviously, the more egregious the transgression, the more difficult it will be for the organization to overcome the crisis.…”

Leveraging the Crisis for Equity and Access in the Long Term: A Brief Research Report

“…The focus on inadequacies in technology and teacher preparedness to deliver online instruction is critically illuminating. However, often left out of the picture is the work of principals who are on the front lines of leading during this crisis in their own communities (Goswick et al, 2018;Hemmer and Elliff, 2019). Principals continue to face a daunting array of challenges to effectively serve their students and families, particularly the most vulnerable among them.…”