A speaker at a recent staff development session for our school district asked our superintendent in front of the staff what his number one priority was and his response was "The safety and security of all students and staff in the district." Maslow put safety at the base of his hierarchy of needs because no one can do any level of higher order thinking or learning if they do not feel safe. Ensuring the safety and security of a school building is first and foremost the responsibility of the principal and other district administration.
I consider the competency area of Safety and Security to be an area of growth primarily because I have rarely had the opportunity to influence the safety and security of an entire building by developing and implementing policies and procedures or addressing emergency and crisis situations. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced all educators to tighten up on their own approach to safety in school, but these are very unique circumstances unlikely to be seen again. Where I have had practical experience with safety and security policies and procedures has been as union co-president when a teacher came to me this school year with concerns about the safety of the building they were assigned to. I was able to initiate a new meet and confer process for the Special Education Cooperative separate from the main Fergus Falls District meet and confer to address safety and other concerns.