Webinars

When Crisis Hits: How One School Navigated Catastrophe and Came Out Stronger

Sep 16, 2026 | 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. EDT

In January 2025, the Palisades Fire tore through Pacific Palisades, destroying several St. Matthew’s Parish School buildings and forcing the school to relocate almost overnight. In the months that followed, St. Matthew’s kept operating, protected its enrollment, and held its community together through deep uncertainty, thanks to the preparation leadership had in place long before the fire began.

Independent schools face an increasingly unpredictable landscape: natural disasters, enrollment fluctuations, financial pressure. Most school leaders know they should be better prepared, but few have had that preparation tested the way St. Matthew’s has.

This webinar is that story, told firsthand by the people who lived it. St. Matthew’s Parish Head of School Alley Michaelson and Chief Advancement Officer Katie Convoy join us for an honest, peer-to-peer conversation about the crisis protocols and financial protections the school had in place. They’ll speak to the balance between moving fast and staying transparent, and the moments where the plan on paper met the reality on the ground.

In this session, you’ll learn:

What financial structures and leadership protocols St. Matthew’s had in place before the crisis, and which ones mattered most when it counted

How the school communicated with families, staff, and the board in real time, and who made the fast calls

Where St. Matthew’s stands today on enrollment, finances, and community trust

Practical takeaways for stress-testing your own school’s preparedness, from governance to financial risk management to family communication

This session is for Heads of School who want a real model for leading a community through crisis, CFOs and the teams responsible for protecting financial stability when the unexpected hits, and Admissions and technology leaders looking to safeguard family trust and tuition revenue through disruption.