In just a few years, generative AI has shifted from being a novelty to becoming a permanent presence in our schools. The technologies are reshaping how students write, teachers assess, and school leaders respond. Many of us are reacting quickly to keep up with the dizzying pace of developments in AI, relying on short-term tools: temporary bans, “responsible use” policies, and hastily assembled faculty task forces.
But if we focus only on short-term fixes, we risk missing a more important opportunity. The arrival of AI can be a catalyst that helps us build the institutional habits our schools will need as disruption continues. Rather than treating it like a crisis, independent school leaders can use this moment as a proving ground—an invitation to examine how well our schools reflect, adapt, and respond in the face of disruption.
That kind of adaptive capacity is at the heart of research by Vanderbilt University Professor Timothy Vogus and University of Michigan Professor Kathleen Sutcliffe. In their foundational 2007 article, “Organizational Resilience: Towards a Theory and Research Agenda,” they identified five interconnected behaviors that help organizations navigate uncertainty and emerge stronger and more resourceful. Resilient organizations, they argue, don’t just survive shocks or weather change—they learn from them. They remain humble, attentive, and community centered, using disruption to improve how they operate, collaborate, and grow.
Since its publication, this framework has been studied and applied across contexts—from wildland firefighting to higher education to K–12 schools—and it offers timely insights for school leaders confronting the complexities of the AI era.
- Sharing Concerns Early
Resilient organizations don’t wait for problems to escalate. They scan for early warning signs and foster a culture where people are empowered to speak up. A 2015 study that uses this framework, published in the Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, examined wildland firefighting teams and described this behavior as “anomalizing”—the routine search for irregularities, however minor, that could signal danger. Team members on the frontlines were expected to notice and share concerns early, before they became significant threats. Even when things were going well, high-performing teams remained vigilant and avoided complacency.
Similarly, a 2024 study published in Frontiers in Education found that K–12 schools with a strong collaborative culture were more likely to anticipate disruptions, elevate concerns early, and act collectively before minor issues became major problems. In this vein, school leaders should create regular opportunities, such as department or division meetings, for faculty and staff to openly discuss how AI is impacting their work. They should consider both risks, like ethical gray areas, and opportunities, such as new types of formative assessment.
- Knowing When to Pause
Resilient organizations avoid jumping to quick conclusions or engaging in black-and-white thinking. They challenge assumptions, remain curious, and allow for complexity—especially under pressure. The firefighting study found that resilient teams scheduled structured pauses to disrupt the momentum of unfolding situations, allowing time to reassess reality. This kind of pause is a hallmark of thoughtful leadership. Similarly, a 2016 study by Kenneth A. Moran published in the journal WORK described how effective college administrators practiced “goal-directed solution seeking,” generating multiple responses under pressure instead of relying on familiar routines.
School leaders should recognize that the technology we see in schools today is the tip of the iceberg; solutions can quickly become obsolete. Avoid knee-jerk policies that limit innovation and be cautious of oversimplified narratives like “it’s cheating” or “it’s revolutionary,” which hinder deeper inquiry. Instead, plan for structured opportunities—such as faculty huddles after assessment periods and policy reviews at the end of the semester—where the team can step back, evaluate, and make data-informed adjustments based on what’s actually happening on the ground.
- Observing Closely
Resilient organizations stay attuned to how systems function at both institutional and individual levels. They listen closely to those on the frontlines—where the clearest and most immediate signals often emerge. In the firefighting study, effective crews changed their elevation to gain a better vantage point, adjusting their perspectives to better grasp unfolding dynamics. They framed situations as uncertain and invited real-time input from team members to improve collective understanding.
School leaders can stay connected to how AI is impacting teaching and learning—not just how they believe it is. Create opportunities for teachers to share classroom-level observations and insights. Encourage open-source pedagogy by having educators document and exchange what they’re seeing, trying, and learning. Train faculty to surface and explore potential situations; for example, they could discuss how a student is using AI thoughtfully by having the tool help them assist with brainstorming topics for an essay yet inappropriately by not disclosing they had AI assist with the process.
This fall at University School of Nashville, in partnership with Vanderbilt University’s Institute for the Advancement of Higher Education (a hub for engaging faculty and academic leaders to deliver high-quality learning experiences), we surveyed faculty to gather just these kinds of insights: how AI is showing up in classrooms, what’s working, and where educators need more clarity. We also launched a parent survey to better understand family hopes and concerns about AI, especially around privacy, academic integrity, and personalized learning.
These insights have proven invaluable in shaping our early thinking. Still, the work of listening and learning must continue. Schools must build sustained structures like departmental conversations, interdisciplinary dialogues, and shared case studies that expand our collective vantage point and support real-time adaptation.
- Commitment to Resilience
Resilient organizations thrive by adopting a mindset and long-term habits of continuous improvement. They invest in systems and structures that support learning and adaptation, especially in uncertain times. According to Vogus and Sutcliffe, this means organizations must “collectively learn from errors that have occurred,” viewing mistakes not as failures to hide but as fuel for progress. A 2023 Higher Education Policy article, “Organizational Resilience of Higher Education Institutions: An Empirical Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” illustrates this concept by showing how higher education leaders used this moment in history as a chance to reimagine education. These leaders treated disruption not as a detour from normalcy, but as a “means towards transforming to the better.”
As Vogus and Sutcliffe suggest, institutional resilience isn’t about returning to normal. AI has changed the landscape irreversibly. Its influence touches everything from assessment design to academic integrity and student inquiry to teacher workload. Leaders must build the institutional memory and adaptive capacity to meet the future with confidence, curiosity, and care.
School leaders should craft flexible AI policies, not rigid rulebooks. At USN, we’ve developed a schoolwide Generative AI Guidance Framework, grounded in community values and designed as a living document. This framework will be reviewed annually, interpreted contextually by grade level and subject, and refined through faculty, family, and student feedback. This commitment to continuous review and collective learning reflects our belief that institutional guidance should grow with our pedagogy, values, and the technology itself.
- Deference to Expertise
In resilient organizations, decision-making authority shifts to those with the most relevant knowledge, not just those with the highest rank. This shift is especially critical during uncertainty. The firefighting study highlights the contrast between “knowledge by description”—typically held by higher-level leaders—and “knowledge by acquaintance,” the firsthand insights of those actively engaged in dynamic conditions. Leaders who defer to frontline expertise make better decisions and foster a culture of shared responsibility grounded in trust.
School leaders can empower teacher leaders, tech-savvy faculty, and students to shape how AI is implemented and improved. Encourage experimentation—even playful exploration—by those eager to try new things. This was a core idea articulated by AI educator Eric Hudson in a faculty-wide in-service last spring. Many of my colleagues have embraced this notion of purposeful, playful experimentation. One such effort emerged in my own classes: with support from a USN summer curricular grant, a colleague and I developed a student-facing guide to help navigate appropriate AI use in cornerstone research projects like the high school history research paper. The guide is a starting point—intended to evolve as technology and our collective understanding continue to shift—but it represents what can emerge when schools encourage distributed expertise. Resilient schools surface, celebrate, and build upon these efforts, turning individual experimentation into shared institutional learning.
Building a Resilient School Culture
These behaviors aren’t isolated tactics. Together, they build a culture that values humility, shared learning, and adaptive thinking. Ultimately, the most resilient schools in the age of AI won’t be those with the flashiest tools or most comprehensive policies, but those that listen closely, respond wisely, and continually grow the capacity to evolve as disruption unfolds.
At USN, we don’t have all the answers, and we’re not yet practicing every one of these behaviors at scale. But we’re trying. We’re learning iteratively what it looks like to lead through complexity. That, in the spirit of resilience, is where real growth begins.