School Safety Impacts Student Achievement, Teacher Retention, New Survey Finds

More than four in ten K-12 educators (45%) have either considered leaving their positions (34%) or left their positions (11%) due to feeling unsafe while working at a school, according to a new study from Centegix. Additionally, 57% of the 530 K-12 teachers, school administrators, and district administrators surveyed have experienced their coworkers leaving a K-12 position due to feeling unsafe at work. Nearly two in three survey participants (65%) have either witnessed (40%) or were involved (25%) in an incident.

The study also found that safety issues often take away from the time teachers can dedicate to instruction. More than half (56%) of respondents say they lose two or more hours per week of instruction time due to disruptive student behavior. Overall, 48% of the K-12 teachers and administrators who were surveyed say school safety has a moderate or extreme impact.

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Thirty-seven percent say their students are moderately (25%) or extremely (12%) concerned about school safety.

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Other key findings of the report include:

• 84% affirm that school safety directly impacts student achievement
• 83% report that students have some level of concern for their safety while at school
• 77% believe school safety significantly impacts staff retention and recruitment
• 80% regularly think of their own physical safety when at work
• Only 33% perceive high prioritization of staff safety by schools
• 74% don’t feel fully supported by their employer to handle emergency incidents

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The survey also provided insights into the many resources educators use to handle emergencies. The most prominent tool was cell phones, with nearly 40% of respondents saying they use these to initiate requests for help. However, the survey revealed large and inconsistent gaps in notification and response time, with an average of 3-11 minutes to notify emergency personnel (43%) and 6-11 minutes to receive a response (44%).