In my first year as an administrator, I made a rookie mistake. I assumed that adults would act like adults.
I assumed that if a teacher saw a door propped open, they would close it. I assumed that if an outlet cover was broken, someone would report it. I assumed that “Safety First” was common sense.
I learned quickly: Safety cannot be assumed. It must be systemized.
When we assume safety is “common sense,” we leave gaps. And in a school, a gap isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a liability. We cannot rely on people “just knowing” what to do. We have to teach them, drill them, and check them.
Here is how I moved from hoping my school was safe to ensuring it was.
The Myth of “Common Sense”
We often think, “I shouldn’t have to tell a grown adult not to prop a secure door open.”
Yes, you should.
Everyone views the school through their own lens:
- The teacher views the door as a way to get fresh air.
- The custodian views the door as a path to the dumpster.
- The Administrator must view the door as a breach.
If we don’t explicitly teach the why behind the rule, people will prioritize convenience over security every time. My job isn’t to be the “Door Police”; it’s to explain that a propped door compromises the perimeter for every single child in the building.
The Systems: Checks and Balances
We can’t be everywhere, but our systems can. Here is how we operationalize safety so it doesn’t depend on luck.
1. The Perimeter Check (The Walk)
I don’t just walk the halls to say hi. I walk the perimeter to check the hardware.
- Are the exterior doors actually latching?
- Is the gate padlock clicked shut?
- The Rule: If I find a door propped open, I don’t just close it. I find the person who opened it, and we have a conversation. Not a “gotcha,” but a reminder: “This convenience isn’t worth the risk.”
2. The Maintenance Audit
We found broken outlet covers where students could stick their fingers in. We found wobbly bookshelves.
We created a system where Safety Work Orders get priority. If it’s a safety issue, it skips the line. But staff have to know how to report it.
- Action Step: Do your staff know the difference between “My room is too hot” (Comfort) and “This wire is exposed” (Safety)? Teach them the difference.
3. The SRO Partnership
We are lucky to have a School Resource Officer (SRO). But having an officer isn’t a safety plan. Integrating them is.
We include our SRO in our drills not just as an observer, but as a teacher. They help us spot the blind spots we miss because we are looking at the school through “Educator Eyes,” not “Tactical Eyes.”
Heart Safe & Drill Ready
We are a “Project ADAM” Heart Safe school. That means we don’t just hope we know CPR; we drill it.
We have a response team. We have AEDs. We practice cardiac drills just like we practice fire drills.
The Philosophy: You don’t rise to the occasion; you fall to the level of your training. If we haven’t drilled it, we can’t expect to execute it in a crisis.
The Takeaway
It only takes one time for a propped door to become a tragedy. It only takes one time for an ignored safety hazard to become a lawsuit.
As administrators, we have to stop being polite about safety. We have to be annoying about it. We have to be the ones who check the door every single time.Because when it comes to the safety of 500 kids, “Common Sense” isn’t enough. We need Common Practice.