Olivia Ellison

School safety is not static—new threats emerge, research evolves, policies change, and tragic events reshape our understanding of vulnerabilities and best practices. Staying current on school safety developments is essential for administrators, safety coordinators, and anyone responsible for protecting students. This post examines how to stay informed, current hot topics in school safety, and emerging trends requiring attention. Staying Current: Information Sources Government and Research...

Social media has fundamentally transformed adolescent communication, social development, and unfortunately, school safety threats. From viral challenges encouraging dangerous behavior to platforms facilitating bullying and coordinating disruptions, schools face unprecedented digital safety challenges. Recent years have seen waves of TikTok challenges prompting vandalism, threats shared via Snapchat causing lockdowns, and coordinated "national" disruption days spreading through social media....

Few school policy debates generate more controversy than cell phones. Parents demand students have phones for emergency communication; teachers struggle with classroom distraction; administrators balance safety benefits against learning disruption. Recent research and evolving social norms are reshaping this conversation, with implications for both educational quality and emergency preparedness. The Current Landscape Student cell phone ownership is nearly universal. The Pew Research Center...