Purpose: The Greek secondary education system lacks a formal crisis management system. The purpose of this paper is to address this problem as follows: elicit current crisis management practices, outline features for designing a formal crisis management system in Greece. Design/methodology/approach: The research is based on a survey conducted with the directors of secondary education and the interpretation of the survey results. Due to the echelon structure of secondary education the directors are experienced educators with plenty of experience. They are in a unique setting to be able to combine the managerial perspective with field experience, both of which are important for managing crises. Findings: First, events of sociopolitical nature are considered as important crisis triggers. Second, there is tendency to expect extended involvement of the state. Third despite the lack of a formal system, current practices are relevant and tend to mimic formal systems. Research limitations/implications: In practice the lack of a formal system does not impede crisis management to be applied in secondary education units. Originality/value: There is no other survey on crisis management at the directors' level that we are aware of. The findings outline existing practices from a tactical perspective, and can serve as a guide for designing a formal crisis management system that is suited for secondary education in Greece.