Building Trust Through Verification and Vigilance in School Safety

Trust is the foundation of every school community. But when systems fail to verify who’s leading, teaching, or assessing students, that trust erodes, and safety is put at risk.

Recent events have revealed major oversights: unlicensed individuals conducting student evaluations and school leaders falsifying degrees. These aren’t just administrative mistakes, they’re breakdowns in responsibility.

Integrity Is a Safety Standard

Every person working with or around students must be vetted. Verification isn’t about mistrust; it’s about accountability. A quick degree check or fingerprint submission can prevent long-term harm. When schools protect integrity, they protect safety.

Unchecked behavior doesn’t stop with a falsified résumé. When leaders take risks to gain power, they often continue taking risks once inside the system; decisions that can endanger students and undermine the credibility of the district.

Preparing for the Unthinkable

School emergencies are rarely simple. Recent attacks have involved multiple methods — vehicles, fire, and gunfire. Planning must reflect that reality. Instead of focusing on a single type of threat, schools should train for layered, simultaneous scenarios and always begin with one guiding question: What’s the worst that could happen, and are we ready?

Don’t Overlook Domestic Violence

Custody disputes and personal conflicts often spill into schools. These incidents should be treated as acts of violence, not private disagreements. Staff should know how to respond immediately, contacting law enforcement, enforcing restraining orders, and ensuring safe student exchanges.

Violence Is Violence

Whether it’s a verbal confrontation or an active threat, the response framework should be the same: identify the risk, protect people, and act quickly. Categorizing all forms of aggression under a unified violence prevention plan helps schools respond faster and communicate more clearly.

Verifying credentials, maintaining integrity, and preparing for all forms of violence are interconnected. They form the core of a trusted, proactive safety culture. One where every safeguard, from hiring to emergency response, works to protect students and restore confidence in our schools.