School Safety: Learning From the Past, Preparing for the Future

As Liberty Common School's Director of Security, I spend a lot of time thinking about something I hope our students don’t have to spend much time thinking about at all–their safety.

Students should be able to walk into school ready to learn.  Teachers should be able to focus on teaching.  Parents should be able to send their children to school knowing safety is taken seriously and we are continually preparing, evaluating, and looking for ways to improve.

School safety has changed quite a bit over the years.  Decades ago, most school-safety planning centered on fires, accidents, and severe weather.  Many of the things we take for granted today including fire drills, marked exits, alarms, evacuation routes, and severe-weather procedures, came from lessons learned through real emergencies.

The same is true of school security today.

Events such as the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 changed the way schools and the country thought about security.  Schools began taking a much closer look at building access, communication, emergency procedures, identifying potential concerns, and coordinating with first responders.

Those lessons continue to shape the work we do at Liberty.

School safety is not the responsibility of one person.  While security is my primary responsibility, keeping our campuses safe takes the awareness and cooperation of Liberty’s entire staff.  Teachers, administrators, and staff know their buildings and their students.  They are often first to notice when something is out of place or needs attention.

There are many layers to school safety.  Building access, communication systems, cameras, emergency procedures, staff training, drills, and relationships with local first responders all play a role.  No single lock, camera, procedure, or person can make a school safe in isolation.

That is also where Liberty’s culture matters.

Responsibility, cooperation, citizenship, and integrity are among Liberty’s Foundation Stones.  Those principles have a place in school safety as well.  A student who tells an adult when something doesn’t seem right is showing responsibility.  A staff member who follows a safety procedure every time, even when it may be inconvenient, is doing his or her part.  Parents who follow the visitor- and building-access procedures help maintain a safer environment for everyone inside.

Some of the most important safety precaution can start with something as simple as a student, parent, or staff member speaking up.

At the same time, I don’t believe a safe school needs to feel like a fortress.  Much of what goes into school security happens quietly in the background.  My responsibility is to pay attention to the details, identify areas where we can improve, prepare for situations we hope never happen, and work with Liberty staff so we are ready to respond when needed.

School safety is never finished.  Circumstances change.  Technology changes.  Best practices change.  This means we continue learning, practicing, evaluating, and improving.

What doesn’t change is why we do it.

Liberty students come through our doors each morning to learn, grow in knowledge and virtue, and prepare themselves for what comes next.  My role is to help make sure Liberty’s students and staff have a safe environment in which to do exactly that.

Learn more about school safety at Liberty Common School.