When school safety isn’t about fear: How connections transform security
The WorldSafe team came across this brilliant article today in the news. It was so good we wanted to share it on our own news feed…
For nearly two decades as a school district superintendent, I believed school safety meant eliminating as many threats as possible. I, like most of my colleagues, dedicated budgets to metal detectors, surveillance cameras, and armed officers.
I hoped these investments would reassure families that our buildings were secure. Yet I kept hearing the same refrain from students, parents, and teachers: “We still do not feel safe.” It became clear that the old definition of safety as an “absence of fear” was not enough.
Each tragic event in our nation’s schools sparks a wave of renewed security spending. Districts tighten entrances, install more cameras and hire additional staff to patrol hallways. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, billions of dollars have flowed toward these measures over the past decade alone.
The underlying assumption is that visible layers of protection will eradicate fear. However, as I speak with educators and students across the country, it is obvious that the fear remains. When “keeping bad things out” becomes the overarching goal, we often miss a critical point: real safety is not just about avoiding something negative; it is about building something positive.
School safety and SEL
That realization led me to think differently about safety; namely, that it might be more effectively defined as the “presence of connections.” Fear takes root most strongly when people feel alone or unseen.
If students have trusting relationships with peers and staff, they are more likely to share their anxieties before a crisis occurs. If every adult in the building is dedicated to creating a warm and inclusive environment, then even if concerns arise, students and families have someone reliable to turn to.
Research supports this idea. Programs focusing on social-emotional learning and restorative practices have shown that when students feel a sense of belonging, schools see lower rates of violence and misconduct.
For instance, Joseph Durlak and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis demonstrating that students in SEL programs display improvements in behavior and academic achievement. They are also less likely to engage in aggressive or disruptive behaviors, which are key indicators of school safety.
Restorative justice initiatives, where conflicts are addressed through dialogue rather than punishment, likewise foster community. Students who know they can talk through issues with trusted adults and peers feel more secure in their environment.
That sense of connection also resonates with teachers, whose responsibilities often include everything from de-escalating conflicts to counseling students. When I speak with leaders in districts that invest heavily in SEL and mental health support, they consistently reported fewer classroom disruptions and stronger bonds with students.
Collaborative culture
While visible security hardware might make outsiders feel more at ease, these teachers noticed that actual student well-being is tied more closely to having staff dedicated to emotional support.
This is not an argument to scrap security measures entirely. Doors need to lock, and safety protocols should remain in place. But as budgets expand, we must weigh the costs and benefits: can we reallocate some funds toward mental health professionals or mentorship programs? Might building more trusting relationships be a more direct path to reducing violence than adding yet another set of surveillance tools?
The challenge is that “presence of connections” can be harder to measure. It is easier to point to cameras installed, officers hired or ID card systems implemented. Funding requests for SEL, restorative justice facilitators or community-building events often meet more skepticism because their impact, though real, is not as easily quantified on a spreadsheet.
Often, when we invest upstream, it is hard to quantify the downstream savings from incidents that don’t occur. Yet schools that intentionally invest in building relationships and trust often find that their improved climate leads to safer outcomes.
We also need to consider how our language shapes perceptions. Each time a tragic incident occurs, media headlines focus on what failed in the security plan. Debates center on whether one more metal detector or a different safety protocol might have changed the outcome.
Rarely do we see discussions about whether students felt isolated or unheard in the weeks or months beforehand. By redefining safety to emphasize connection, we shift the conversation toward community-wide responsibility, where everyone (students, parents, teachers and staff) shares a commitment to fostering a safe, collaborative culture.
Feeling seen and heard
As a superintendent who served in multiple districts and on national boards, I have listened to many colleagues echo this epiphany: “We have let others define school safety for us, but what we are doing is not truly moving the needle.”
The shift toward focusing on the “presence of connections” is a clarion call to reclaim safety on our own terms, rooted in research and real-world impact. We must still prepare for emergencies and address physical threats, but we should also realize that strong, supportive relationships are the foundation upon which real security is built.
Ultimately, the question we must ask is: do we want our schools to be fortresses or communities? One approach tries to keep every risk at bay. The other fosters a sense of belonging that makes extreme actions less likely to begin with.
If we truly want our children to be safe, perhaps the real solution is ensuring they feel seen and understood. In that sense, safety is far more than the absence of fear—it thrives in the presence of genuine human connection.
Source: https://daleadershipinstitute.com/2025/03/10/when-school-safety-isnt-about-fear-how-connections-transform-security/