Darius O. Johnson, Briana Markoff, and Dorinda J. Carter Andrews examined data from focus groups conducted with more than 60 Black boys in midwestern high schools to learn how teachers and schools can refuse antiblackness and reimagine futures for Black boys in school. Black boys and young men want safe school environments and will create safe…

In the wake of school shootings, attention invariably turns to how to make schools safer. But many of the strategies intended to secure schools against external threats yield unintended negative consequences for marginalized students, exacerbating racial and other inequalities. Meg Caven advocates for a definition of school safety that centers on…

More than half of U.S. schools have no police presence on their campuses. Jonathan E. Collins proposes that all school buildings be free of police. School resource officers (SROs), he writes, do more harm than good. An alternate policy that would remove SROs from schools involves the framework of the community policing model. This model focuses on…

Americans' ratings of their community's public schools reached a new high dating back 48 years in this year's PDK Poll of Public Attitudes Toward the Public Schools, while fewer than ever express interest in having their child work as a public school teacher. Results of the 54th annual PDK poll tell a tale of conflicted views of public schools --…

An array of federal, state, and local laws and policies come into play when situations arise that could compromise student safety. These laws and district policies combine to form an intricate and sometimes inconsistent patchwork of protocols that schools must follow. Robert Kim discusses the interplay between federal, state, and local laws…

Schools across the United States use abeyance agreements as an alternative to suspension or expulsion, yet little is known about them. These agreements allow students to avoid or reduce suspensions or expulsions, if they meet the terms of the agreement and waive certain due process rights. David Perrodin argues that these agreements enable school…

Although metal detectors, guards, and law enforcement officers are intended to protect students and maintain a safe educational environment, the actual effectiveness of such measures is unclear, especially when it comes to protecting Black students. Charles Bell interviewed Black students from urban and suburban schools across Michigan and learned…

Despite progress in recent years, members of the LGBTQ+ community remain underrepresented and underserved in the school system. Ferial Pearson and Steven Gill draw on research literature and their own experiences as out queer educators to recommend a set of actions educators can take to reduce harm to members of these communities in school. They…

Many effective strategies exist to keep students safe, supported, and engaged in school. Restorative practice (RP) is a powerful approach for achieving these goals as it elevates student voice and can strengthen school climate. Annie M. White and John Kenneth Weiss share findings from an initiative through which high school student-faculty teams…

T. Philip Nichols and Alexander Monea explore the spread of data-driven surveillance (i.e., dataveillance) technologies in schools, which are increasingly used as a strategy for mitigating safety risks. They argue that the sense of security schools derive from these technologies often comes at the cost of students' actual well-being and privacy.…

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light many of the essential nonacademic functions of U.S. schools, such as meals, mental health support, and opportunities for students whose families lack resources. Yet, as Derek Gottlieb and Jack Schneider explain, schools continue to be evaluated primarily on students' academic outcomes. They call for a…

Although most teachers are familiar with growth mindsets, many conflate it with other terms or concepts or have difficulties understanding how to best foster growth mindsets in their students. Shelby Clark and Madora Soutter describe how growth mindsets are related to, yet distinct from, intellectual risk-taking and share strategies for fostering…

Many proponents of charter schools suggest that, by providing an option outside traditional public schools, they are helping disadvantaged students who might otherwise be confined to low-quality neighborhood schools. But market-based accountability structures are insufficient to ensure that charter schools are actually enrolling students (i.e.,…

The BRIDGE Alternative Middle School in Lowell, Massachusetts, serves students ages 12-16 who have exhibited behavioral problems in traditional school settings, including problems such as truancy, multiple suspensions, mental health issues, peer conflicts, family dysfunction, academic problems, and gang involvement. Students referred to BRIDGE are…

The mental health implications of crisis exposure have emerged as a critical and challenging facet of school safety and crisis response, expanding our focus to encompass both psychological and physical safety, as well as prevention and recovery. Best practice reflects this evolution in our understanding and encompasses the continuum of crisis and…