Jeffrey D. Harrison does not measure a successful school day only by what happens in classrooms. As Superintendent of Brecksville-Broadview Heights City Schools in Ohio, he thinks about the entire journey from arrival through dismissal.
“I really don’t relax on a given day until that last school bus gets back to the garage,” Harrison told CENTEGIX CMO Robb Monkman in Episode 8 of The Safety Signal, “Jeffrey Harrison, Ohio Superintendent, on Why Safety Can’t Wait”.
That vigilance reflects the responsibility district leaders carry for thousands of students and employees each day. It also explains why Harrison believes school safety cannot remain a secondary initiative, a future budget consideration, or a decision postponed until legislation demands action.
“Our number one goal is to educate students,” he said. “But to educate students, they have to be safe and they have to feel safe, and they have to have a certain sense of belonging. Everything we do has to revolve around that.”
A comprehensive school safety strategy connects that sense of security with the plans, people, and technology needed to respond to everyday incidents and extreme emergencies.
Why Is School Safety the Foundation of Education?
Harrison’s perspective developed across 24 years in education. He began as a classroom teacher and later served as an athletic director and building principal before becoming a superintendent. Each role expanded his view of who depends on a district’s safety decisions and how quickly a routine day can change.
Federal guidance supports treating safety as a condition for learning rather than an isolated security function. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains that school connectedness, students’ sense that adults and peers care about them and their learning, is associated with higher grades, better attendance, and a greater likelihood of graduation. The same guidance connects school belonging with lower risks of violence and poor mental health.
Harrison expresses the idea in simpler terms: “A safe school feels like home.”
For him, success means students arrive safely, learn in “a warm environment where they feel they belong,” and return home safely to their families. That definition places safety inside the educational mission. It also makes a culture of school safety the shared work of district leaders, educators, support staff, students, families, and community responders.
What Must a School Safety Plan Prepare For?
Discussions about school safety often begin with an active-assailant event. Harrison recognizes the importance of preparing for that possibility, but his district’s experience shows why a school safety plan must also cover the incidents employees encounter far more often.
“Really where this partnership and this school safety comes down to is the day-in and day-out activities that happen in the building,” he said. Those incidents can include a bloody nose on the playground, a broken arm in physical education, a seizure, an asthma attack, or a fall.
National data likewise shows that safety planning must extend beyond a single threat. The National Center for Education Statistics documents a broad range of incidents, including physical attacks, fights, threats, medical emergencies, and other disruptions that schools must manage. The federal Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans recommends an all-hazards planning process tailored to the needs and characteristics of each school.
At Brecksville-Broadview Heights, staff members use the CENTEGIX CrisisAlert wearable panic button to request assistance during those everyday events. Harrison receives staff-alert notifications as one of the district’s safety leaders.
“I hope we never have to use the CrisisAlert,” he said of a campus-wide emergency. “It’s there. I hope we never have to use it. But the three-click, the staff alert, we use it every day.”
That daily use is why effective school safety solutions should eliminate common response delays. Employees need a clear way to request assistance, responders need to know where help is required, and the district’s established protocols need to begin without avoidable steps.
Why Shouldn’t Districts Wait for a Mandate?
When Monkman asked Harrison about proposed school-safety legislation in Ohio, Harrison supported measures that would help districts create safer environments. He also explained why Brecksville-Broadview Heights acted without waiting for a legal requirement.
“I didn’t wait for legislation because I’d rather be someone that can kind of control my own destiny rather than being told what to do,” he said. Acting early also allowed the district to become an example for other Ohio superintendents considering similar safety solutions.
Ohio already requires schools to maintain emergency management plans, and the Ohio School Safety Center provides planning requirements and resources for districts. Meanwhile, Ohio Senate Bill 105 proposes additional requirements related to wearable panic alert systems. Regardless of a proposal’s final status, Harrison’s point is that legislation should not be the first reason a district addresses a known gap.
The CISA K-12 School Security Guide recommends that schools assess their individual risks and apply layered security measures rather than rely on a single control. That process gives district leaders a practical starting point: identify current vulnerabilities, review existing procedures and infrastructure, and determine which safety solutions directly address those needs.
How Does Safety Become a Districtwide Priority?
Harrison describes school safety as an “underlying current” running through curriculum planning, facilities planning, and strategic planning. That does not mean every department makes the same decisions. It means each major district decision considers how students and employees will remain protected and able to respond.
The federal emergency-planning process follows a similar principle. SchoolSafety.gov encourages collaborative planning involving school personnel, first responders, emergency managers, and community partners. A plan becomes more useful when the people expected to carry it out help shape it and understand their roles.
Technology must also fit the plan. The CENTEGIX Safety Platform connects alert activation, precise location information, and emergency notifications to help districts reduce the time required to identify, communicate, and respond to an incident. Digital critical incident mapping brings clarity to emergency response by giving school officials and responders a shared view of buildings, incident locations, and nearby safety assets.
Technology alone does not create readiness. Districts also need defined response protocols, training, drills, reliable communication, and regular plan review. The goal is a connected school safety plan in which people know how to ask for help and what to do when an alert reaches them.
What Does Proactive School Safety Leadership Look Like?
Harrison has now implemented CENTEGIX in two different school districts. He points to staff adoption in both districts as evidence that the investment addressed a genuine need.
“The adoption and the belief in the system from the staff is what sold it to me, what proved to me that this was an investment worth making,” he said.
That response matters because a safety solution cannot improve an emergency response if employees cannot access it or hesitate to use it. Systems should be straightforward enough to support action under stress, and districts should provide the training needed to build confidence. Removing the pain points that slow emergency response helps turn written procedures into repeatable action.
Harrison’s advice to other superintendents is direct: Begin with the district’s most basic needs, and recognize that safety is one of them. That decision does not finish the work. It determines whether the work begins before a failure, mandate, or emergency forces the issue.
Hear Harrison’s complete conversation about proactive leadership, everyday emergencies, funding, staff adoption, and what it means to get everyone home safely in Episode 8 of The Safety Signal, “Jeffrey Harrison, Ohio Superintendent, on Why Safety Can’t Wait.”
Frequently Asked Questions About School Safety
What should a comprehensive school safety plan include?
A comprehensive school safety plan should address prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery across the hazards a district may face. It should define employee roles, communication and notification procedures, coordination with first responders, training and drills, accommodations for people with access and functional needs, and a process for reviewing and improving the plan.
Why should school safety plans address everyday emergencies?
Medical incidents, student altercations, injuries, elopement, and behavioral emergencies occur more frequently than extreme threats. Preparing for these events helps employees request assistance quickly and gives districts regular opportunities to strengthen response procedures that may also be needed during larger emergencies.
How does school safety affect learning?
Students are better positioned to attend, participate, and learn when they feel cared for, supported, and safe. A secure and connected school environment also supports attendance, academic performance, employee confidence, and a sense of belonging.
Should districts wait for school safety legislation before improving their systems?
No. Legislation can establish requirements and provide funding, but districts can assess vulnerabilities and address known response gaps before a mandate takes effect. Local risk assessments, emergency-plan reviews, and coordination with first responders can help leaders identify the most urgent improvements.