This study aims to analyze the strategies and roles of Islamic boarding schools in achieving
educational programs amidst the threat of the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic. This research
uses qualitative research with a case study research approach. The research was conducted at
the Pesantren Border Aceh Tenggara as one of the pesantren assisted by the Aceh Province
Islamic Boarding School Education Office. The results showed that the strategic management
process carried out by the pesantren consisted of three interrelated processes, namely the
formulation process, the implementation process (execution), and the strategic process
(control). The last process is needed to provide input (feedback) for the next management
process. The results of this study have implications for strategic management in pesantren
management, namely: 1) the pesantren has managed to survive and strived to achieve the set
academic program targets; 2) Islamic boarding schools as covid-19 prevention facilitators at
the entrance to the provincial borders as a central place for health checks for immigrants who
enter through the borders of Aceh province; 3) transformation of the learning system from
traditional models to technology-based learning; and 4) the community is able to objectively
assess educational institutions that are good in terms of management so as to allow a clear
relationship between rewards and performance.
Keyword: Strategic management, educational institutions, boarding school, Covid-19
pandemic