The COVID pandemic has hit every person and organization by storm. In international education, stakeholders are diverse, bringing complex needs and considerations. Institutional responses to the pandemic are not amenable to broad replicability due to the contextualized nature in which international schools are situated, yet they are nonetheless of interest, particularly regarding the development of effective practices in times of pandemic. This paper explores some reflections of educators and leaders at international schools in south, southeast, and east Asia, in some of the first geographic areas to be affected by COVID-19, as they continue to face this crisis from personal and professional standpoints. The effects include higher levels of acculturative stress, but also the presence of hope and resilience. One education hub organization provides a medium-term visionary response, which is practical and potentially beneficial to multiple stakeholders in international education, as educational organizations consider best practices in terms of adaptive leadership in response to a pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]