5 Cheats to Up Your School Safety Program

Have you ever noticed people who cheat on their tests often work harder at cheating than they would have if they had done the work in the first place? In my prior profession, law enforcement, I noticed other officers would spend hours working on “kissing off” a report that would have taken them an hour to write. I often think about why this happens so frequently. Is it because they are lazy? Is it because they want to see if they can get away with something that is frowned upon? Maybe it is because they aren’t confident in their level of knowledge and skills and just don’t want others to know that about them. As we have discussed many times before, school safety takes effort and the willingness to put the work in.  School safety is the story of the Three Little Pigs; at some point, we must put the work in.  Fortunately, you have the power to decide when that moment arrives, whether you're in control of your circumstances or facing your worst imaginable day.

As we ring in the New Year, we will face many challenges. While most are unknown and will be tested often, we can cheat on these tests. I don’t mean copying someone else’s test answers when I say cheat. We can know the answers to the test questions before the test is written. The biggest challenge is that we don’t know when the test will be and what order the questions will be in. So, how do we know the answers to a test that hasn’t been written yet? Here’s how.

• We are going to look at what is likely to happen by examining the tests others have taken.
  
  
• We are going to be proactive in researching the answers to these questions.
  
  
• If we can’t find the answers, we are going to ask for help.
  
  
• If others are having difficulties, we are going to help.
  
  
• If we need resources to answer the questions, we are going to ask for them.
  
  
• We are going to do everything we can to ensure that we ace the test.

This is the perfect time for all of us to get to work. Most of us are working on the plans for the next school year. We can create a “cheat sheet” for our school safety program with just a few minor adjustments in how we tackle our challenges.

• Be proactive in your efforts.
  
  
• Understand your strengths and weaknesses, and make your weaknesses your strengths.
  
  
• Be strategic in your efforts.
  
  
• Budgeting and Resources play an essential part in your success.
  
  
• Shift your mindset in school emergencies from the “unthinkable or unimaginable” to “I have already thought about that, and this is what we are doing to address those.”

As we plan for the next school year, now is the time to ensure the safety needs of your schools are considered and accounted for in that plan, especially the schedule and adopted budget.