Whenever schools and districts reopen as the Country tries to move forward during the COVID-19 pandemic, their primary focus will be health and safety, of course. Classroom cleaning and child-temperature monitoring are just two new critical procedures that will be in place. School leaders will need to show initiative in this brave new world. Part of the action-plan may call for improving operating efficiency since any missteps could have severe consequences. The time may be now for schools steeped in bureaucratic malaise to look toward business models as a means of creating plans that would minimize health risks. 

As a consequence of the 2008 financial crisis, many independent school leaders planned for a new normal, re-imaging schools as for-profit businesses as well as nonprofit educational institutions to attain financial stability. Those a step behind may now need to ask their business managers to play a significant new role, working with safety committees to alter day-to-day procedures. With fall just around the corner, time is short for the wholesale financial alterations envisioned in 2008, but more immediate procedures can be implemented. Here are four possible practical changes schools could adopt for adults that, at a minimum, may reinforce the specific CDC guideline recommendations for schools. 

Meetings 

School heads, principals, division chairs, and others in supervisory positions will need to reduce the number of required meetings on the monthly agenda; businesses do not devote an inordinate amount of time to meetings that take away from task time. Whenever possible, they can be carried out remotely. As businesses discovered – as well as many schools – a well-run remote meeting checks off all the productivity boxes. If they must be carried out immediately at the end of the school day, teachers can still link in from their individual rooms, reducing potential anxiety. 

Supplies 

Schools should be willing to spend more on basic supplies, such as staplers, pens, and papers than they have in the past. This increased outlay should result from the necessity of removing restocking supplies from central locations and putting them in individual classrooms, providing teachers with more than they may require at first. The redistribution will minimize daily movement within the building. 

Copiers 

Copy (and other business) machines are often be centered in select rooms. As part of the plan to increase efficiency and safety, schools should lease an increased number of copiers, fax machines, and printers to locate in more spaces closer to classrooms. They also should stockpile laptops, since teachers will lose a primary tool for safe outreach if a broken machine leaves one stranded. This is one area where change will be expensive – but reducing foot traffic, face-to-face contact, and long lines will make the investment worthwhile. 

Communication Resources 

Traditional phone-line systems chain teachers to specific locations, limiting communication flexibility. Schools that rely on these may consider the move to using cloud in phones instead. Cloud-based Unified Communications as a Service are systems that allow connection from various devices and locations. They can be set up to control voice, fax, chat, video, and other communication needs; this functionality gives teachers the upper hand in controlling where and when they can perform these necessary tasks. 

Autonomy 

The term front-line workers have taken on a significance in 2020, and teachers are as much in that category as is any worker. Teachers need to be given decision-making autonomy, critical for their safety, and, more important, that of the students. As with a business that relies on too much employee oversight, schools that do the same threaten to throttle teachers’ front-line decision-making capabilities. 

After all, student safety really jobs one for teachers, serving in loco parentis. Teachers will now be challenged by a new normal. They will need to follow extensive rules and guidelines without even once relaxing standards. Leaders can make teacher tasks safer by implementing a few accessible, business-practical solutions.