Security Theater vs. Real School Safety: Why the Most Effective Prevention Is Often Invisible
When SOS (Shiny Object Syndrome) overshadows impactful school safety strategies When a school tragedy occurs, communities understandably demand action. Parents want reassurance. Media attention intensifies. Political leaders call for solutions. School leaders feel enormous pressure to demonstrate that they are taking decisive steps to protect students and staff. In that environment, the loudest and most […]
School Safety in the Crosshairs: When Security Vendor Influence Leads to Criminal Charges
How private-equity money, aggressive marketing, and vendor courting of education and school safety leaders are creating ethical and legal minefields Marketing on Steroids in the School Security Industry The school security product and technology industry is operating in hyper-drive, fueled by private-equity money, aggressive marketing, and increasingly sophisticated lobbying efforts aimed at legislators and funding […]
Respect the Tactical Service. Evaluate the School Safety Advice and Tech Applicability.
Why School Safety Decisions Must Be Based on Evidence, Not Tactical Résumés In today’s school safety marketplace, it’s increasingly common for vendors to highlight founders’ or executives’ backgrounds in the military or tactical law enforcement. Military service and law enforcement service are honorable professions, and those experiences deserve respect. But when school districts are making […]
A School Safety Vacuum Is Forming—and Vendors Are Rushing to Fill It: The coming food fight over “credible” school safety guidance as existing school safety organizations quickly crumble
The school security field is in the middle of one of the most turbulent shake-ups in its history. Longstanding organizations are disappearing. Experienced professionals are losing jobs, crossing over to be the face for security vendors, or exiting the field. Private-equity and venture-capital money are reshaping organizations. Vendor lobbying influence is intensifying. And public-sector capacity […]
School Safety Product and Technology Decision Checklist: An independent school security tech decision guide for school leaders
Too many school safety technology decisions are made under pressure—after a tragedy, during a funding window, or in response to persuasive vendor claims. In those moments, it’s easy to confuse action with effectiveness. That’s why I developed the School Safety Product and Technology Decision Checklist—an independent due-diligence resource to help boards, superintendents, and district leaders […]
What 2025 Taught Us About School Safety—and Why 2026 Can’t Be Business as Usual
School Safety Year-End Review: 2025 (5 Key Takeaways) 1. The gap between policy and practice remained the #1 risk factorDistricts continued to invest heavily in plans, systems, and vendors—yet too many incidents exposed breakdowns in training, supervision, communications, and decision-making at the point of impact. 2. Technology noise grew louder than operational disciplineAI weapon detection, […]
The Lies We Tell Ourselves — and Our School Communities — About School Safety
There are two big lies we keep telling ourselves — and our school communities — about school safety. The first is: “School safety is our number one top priority.”The second is: “You can’t put a cost on school safety.” Both sound good. Both feel good. And both are false. The Budget Reality School safety is, […]
Buyer Beware: As private equity creeps into the school security industry, school leaders face increased risks
Buyer Beware: As private equity creeps deeper into the hashtagschool security product and technology market, smaller companies get gobbled up into bigger entities.Bundled services. Louder marketing. Lobbyists hired. But quality risks going downhill.Our team worked with one district where a once-reputable visitor management system failed miserably across dozens of schools — challenges with service, unresolved […]