School Safety Today: Survey Says—Gap on Perception of School Safety

Is there a gap between how parents and students perceive a particular school’s safety and how the school administrators do? A 2021 survey in partnership with Raptor Technologies revealed a wide gap in the perception of school safety initiatives. Students and parents are less confident than administrators in several critical areas, including a 30-point gap when asked if their school takes a proactive approach to safety awareness.

To further discuss these survey results and look at some strategies schools can take moving forward, School Safety Today tapped mother, educator, and Co-Founder of Safe and Sound Schools, Michele Gay.

“Being an educator, school safety was always a thing,” Gay said. “Those seeds were planted and watered over the years.” But when Gay lost her youngest daughter, Josephine, at Sandy Hook, that not only changed her life forever, but her perspective on school safety changed and became a recognition that school safety needs to be a top priority.

In co-founding Safe and Sound Schools with a fellow Sand Hook parent, Gay’s mission is to ensure all schools in the United States and beyond have the resources and assistance available to make schools safer. “There are so many people with so much to contribute. For us, it’s really just about bringing that all together,” Gay said.

Gay said she was not surprised by the survey results showing gaps, but the gaps in student perception were troubling because they are the ones at the school every day. “To see that there is this disenfranchised group that is our primary stakeholder, that waves a big red flag for all of us.”

Some of these gaps could be due to a lack of effective communication between the schools and the parents, a barrier Gay admitted is a challenge. “You can tell people stuff, and hopefully they remember it, but once they become engaged in it, and they’re a part of it, they’re not only remembering it, but sharing it with others,” Gay said. So, engaging the community is a necessary tool for closing the communication gap.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

Mike Dermont Diversified talks AV and healthcare experience
AV’s Critical Role in the Future of Healthcare Experience
July 15, 2025

As healthcare organizations face growing pressure to improve healthcare experience, patient outcomes, streamline operations, and address chronic staffing shortages, audiovisual (AV) technologies are becoming essential tools in delivering high-quality care. From in-room monitoring to patient communication systems, the AV industry is stepping up to meet the evolving demands of a sector that touches every life….

Read More
Applied Digital
Workforce, Housing, and Growth: How Applied Digital Is Revitalizing a Rural Town Through AI Infrastructure
July 15, 2025

As AI infrastructure spreads beyond tech hubs and into America’s heartland, companies face a new imperative: not just to build facilities—but to build trust, local partnerships, and long-term value for the communities that host them. In Ellendale, North Dakota, Applied Digital’s Polaris Forge 1 campus has become a case study in what rural revitalization…

Read More
Sepsis
Challenges of Identifying and Reducing Sepsis Mortality – Episode 2
July 15, 2025

Michael Rothman explores the complexities of sepsis identification and management, highlighting the challenges posed by varying definitions and clinical pathways. He discusses the ineffectiveness of current sepsis screening protocols, which often yield high false-positive rates and fail to reduce mortality meaningfully. The episode concludes by questioning the focus on sepsis-specific initiatives and suggesting that more…

Read More
engineering community
The Future of the Engineering Community: Equity, AI, and Real Connection
July 15, 2025

The Engineer Who Builds Communities, Not Just Systems! Angelie Vincent has spent more than two decades in aerospace engineering, but her real legacy might be the communities she’s built along the way. Now an AI Integration Engineer at Boeing, Angelie joins Professional Quotient host Jason Winningham for a wide-ranging conversation on neurodivergent leadership, workplace…

Read More