Description

Presented as part of an online course on school safety.

Educating children is one of the most rewarding jobs any of us will ever have – and one of the toughest. Schools today are tasked with recruiting and retaining good teachers, adhering to legislative mandates, paying the bills and educating an increasingly diverse student population. Look into any classroom and you will find gifted students, students with disabilities and special needs, students who speak English as a second language, students who live in poverty or are homeless. Each and every one of them deserves the chance at a quality education, their school being the place where they can discover, learn, create and grow.

The environment where learning takes place plays a big role in how well these students perform in school, or for that matter, in life. If students do not feel safe and secure, they will have difficulty concentrating on their lessons and, therefore, cannot take full advantage of their learning experience. Statistically, schools are one of the most secure places for our children. Many children can't wait for vacation to end, welcoming the chance to see their friends again and to see what new adventures the new school year will bring. But for many others, anxiety, fear and a sense of personal risk keep them away from school, causing them to fall further behind in their studies. It should be a concern to all of us when even one student spends more time worrying about their safety than their studies, when even one teacher is so preoccupied with the fear of violence erupting in the classroom that they cannot teach, or when a parent's worst worry is the safety of their child at school.

No matter how safe and secure you feel your school may be, it is important to understand that no school is completely risk-free. Events like the shootings at Columbine, September 11th, or Hurricane Katrina have served as an impetus for many to prepare for the unexpected – concerned with what has happened before, realizing that it could and probably will happen again, and knowing that next time it could be at their school. Providing these districts with the right information to plan, prepare, mitigate and respond is of great importance. That is a job that we at School Planning & Management magazine, with the help of Michael Dorn, have gladly taken on. The readers of Michael's column share his deep concern for students' safety and success. Those who have acted on his advice have taken the first steps in providing their students with the safe and secure environment they deserve. In this new book, Let None Learn in Fear, Michael speaks to the issues that school officials need to hear (including those they do not always want to hear.) I encourage you read Michael's new book and then take action against crime and violence in your own school. Our students deserve it.

Deborah P. Moore
Executive Editor/Publisher
School Planning & Management