The Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) concept suggests that natural surveillance, natural access control, and territoriality can be effectively applied to schools and surrounding environments to provide safety for students and teachers. This document presents the essential concepts of the CPTED and examines how the main office within a school can serve as the critical component in safe school design. A CPTED principle suggests that a well designed office should serve as the guardian at the gate, with excellent surveillance outside and inside the school, especially up and down hallways, the entry area, parking lots, drop off areas, and playing fields. Progressively higher levels of security design for the main entry and office areas are diagramed providing benefits and disadvantages of each. (Contains 16 references.) (GR)