A safe school environment is a
Just over half of students feel safe at school.
When asked how safe they feel at various locations around their school, just over half of students report feeling safe from harm at school.
While 66 percent of students feel safe in their classes, only 59 percent say they feel safe at school in general. When asked about other locations on their school campus, 55 percent of students feel safe on school property outside of their school building and 54 percent feel safe in the hallways, bathrooms, and locker rooms of their school.
I don't like the negative energy between students. It's not a safe environment to be around. I want to feel safe. I don't want to feel like someone is trynig to push me or cuss at me every time they're in the way and I'm trying to push my way to get to class.
WHAT DO PARENTS AND GUARDIANS THINK?
YouthTruth also asked family members about their perceptions of safety at their child’s school. We analyzed responses from over 9000 parents and guardians gathered between March 2016 and January 2018 and found the following:
- The majority of family members believe their child is safe from violence at school.
Seventy-nine percent of elementary school family members, 74 percent of middle school family members, and 72 percent of high school family members feel that their child is safe from violence at school. - Family members feel more positively about the fairness of discipline.
Seventy-two percent of elementary school family members, 67 percent of middle school family members, and 61 percent of high school family members feel positively about the fairness of discipline at their child’s school.
Less than two thirds of students report that adults at their schools try to stop bullying and harassment.
When asked about how adults at their school respond to bullying and harassment, only 60 percent of students report that adults at their school try to stop bullying and harassment.
While this is the majority of students, it still leaves considerable room for improvement when 40 percent of students feel neutrally or negatively about adult role models’ reaction to bullying. The perception that adults are not addressing harassment and bullying contributes to students feeling less safe and negatively affects overall school culture.
We also find that middle school students are slightly more likely than high school students to report that they help peers who are bullied or harassed. Fifty-eight percent of middle school students report that they help, compared to 51 percent of high school students.
SCHOOL SAFETY RESOURCES
The CDC recommends various strategies for promoting school connectedness and reducing school violence. Here are a few of the suggestions on how to create trusting and caring relationships that promote communication among school stakeholders.
- Apply and fairly enforce reasonable and consistent disciplinary policies that are jointly agreed upon by students and staff.
- Hold school-wide, experience broadening activities that enable students to learn about different cultures, people with disabilities, and other topics.
- Support student clubs and activities that promote a positive school climate, such as gay-straight alliances and multi-cultural clubs.
- Involve students in parent-teacher conferences, curriculum selection committees, and school health teams.
About a third of students report that students get into physical fights and feel they must be ready to defend themselves.
When asked about the prevalence of fights, 37 percent of students report that fights occur at least somewhat often. Thirty one percent of students report that they feel they must be ready to fight to defend themselves at least somewhat often. Schools where physical fights are common may not be able to maintain a focused learning environment.
The data also reveals differences across different student demographic groups. When disaggregating the data by school level, we see that middle school students are slightly more likely than high school students to observe physical fighting. Middle schoolers are also more likely to feel that they must be ready to fight to defend themselves at school.
When examining responses by students’ self-reported race/ethnicity, we see that black or African-American students are slightly more likely than white students to feel that they must be ready to fight to defend themselves.
One thing that I think can be improved is to stop the fights. Usually we have fights around school. Sometimes we have kids and, like, strangers - they're like 30 years old - come in to the school. We have security, but they're not paying attention to different places.
Student quote courtesy of My American Education.
Students have a right to feel safe at school.
Safety is an essential component of a supportive learning environment and a crucial foundation for academic success. We know that unsafe schools are associated with a variety of negative outcomes for students, including chronic absenteeism and poor academic outcomes. Students who feel unsafe at school may also be more likely to engage in risky behaviors, such as alcohol use or carrying weapons.
Asking for students’ feedback — and truly listening to it — will help schools foster safe and supportive learning environments. We hope that this report encourages more school leaders to provide regular spaces for feedback and honest reflections on their experiences. Student feedback can better equip school and district leaders to identify concerns and address them swiftly to ensure that all students feel safe and supported at school.
RESOURCES
- Center for Disease Control – Understanding School Violence
Overview of school violence issues and CDC recommended resources. - National Association of School Psychologists – School Violence Overview & Facts
Facts and tips about school violence prevention for school employees. - California School Board Association – How to Create Safer and Bully Free Schools
Webinar focused on how to create a safe and positive school environment. - AASA – Resources for Schools to Prepare and Recover from Crisis
Inventory of resources to help school district leaders prepare for and recover from crisis - National Crime Prevention Council – School Safety Toolkit
A step-by-step guide to engaging parents, assessing school safety, and identifying solutions. - My American Education
Highlights stories from students across the country sharing their experiences in schools.
Want to learn more about how you can gather student feedback to drive improvements in your school or district?
FOR PRINCIPALS, TEACHERS, AND PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES
- Do you think about 59 percent of your student body feels safe at school, or do you think your students might feel more or less positively than that broad statistic? Why?
- How do you think students’ feelings of engagement on your campus might be similar to or different from these findings?
- Do you think 60 percent of students at your school would say that adults at their school try to stop bullying and harassment? What sources inform your hypothesis?
- How do you currently gauge school safety?
- What programs or processes do you currently have in place to support school safety?
- What questions do you have after reflecting on this data?
- Do school staff have the training and resources needed to keep students safe? What additional training or resources would
be helpful? - What mechanisms are in place to hear from students about their experience of safety in their schools? Are all students
engaged in that process or are only some students being heard?
FOR TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS IN CONVERSATION WITH STUDENTS
- Do you think about 59 percent of your student body feels safe at school, or do you think your students might feel more or less positively than that broad statistic? Why?
- How do you think students’ feelings of engagement on your campus might be similar to or different from these findings?
- Do you think 60 percent of students at your school would say that adults at their school try to stop bullying and harassment? What sources inform your hypothesis?
- How often do you think fights happen at school? How concerned do you feel about needing to defend yourself?
- What do you think school leaders could do to make this school a safer place? What do you think students could do?
- How does your school communicate school safety policies, expectations, and resources? How could they do this better?
- What role do parents/guardians play in keeping schools safe?
DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT
To help educators, parents, education funders, and students grapple with student perceptions of safety, we went straight to the source for more insight. We analyzed survey responses from nearly 35,000 students in grades five through twelve through YouthTruth’s anonymous school experience survey, administered in partnership with school districts and charter management organizations across eight states. Download the full report to:
- Understand how students’ perceptions of safety in school
- Discover resources to take action
- Close the feedback loop with suggested discussion questions for principals, teachers, and professional learning communities as well as for teachers and principals in conversation with students