Updated October 4, 2026. This practical planning perspective replaces the original 2025 risk forecast.

A continuity plan becomes useful when it answers a concrete question: what must our organization keep doing when normal conditions are unavailable? For a school, that question reaches beyond facilities. It includes learning, student support, communications, staffing, technology, and the decisions that hold these functions together.

Start with the mission. Identify essential functions, the people and systems each function depends on, and the consequences of interruption. Assign an owner who can explain the minimum workable alternative.

Test your assumptions. A remote-learning option still depends on staff capacity, connectivity, accessible materials, and clear communication. An alternate workspace still needs technology, records, and decision authority. Document dependencies rather than assuming an alternative will work.

Exercise the decisions. Use a tabletop scenario to ask what happens if a key person is unavailable, a vendor is disrupted, or normal communication channels cannot be used. Capture specific improvements, assign responsibility, and set a review point.

Connect continuity to recovery. Restoring a schedule does not automatically restore capacity or confidence. Consider leadership workload, support coordination, communication needs, and the transition into sustained recovery.

AJ Edwards Consulting helps schools and organizations turn these questions into practical planning, exercises, and recovery priorities. Discuss your continuity needs: [email protected] | (917) 565-7341.