This blog post is written by Isabella Eaton

Being the daughter of a teacher meant learning the value of school and education very early on. I
was someone who was excited by the idea of going to school, knowing I would get to see my
friends and the teachers who showed up day after day to support their students and help them
grow. As you can imagine for me, Teacher Appreciation Week was always taken seriously. My
mom being an educator truly shaped my perception of what school means to me…and especially
what school safety means.

I remember my mom coming home one day from teacher planning week, and she just seemed
off. She told me that she and the rest of the staff had active shooter drills that day, and I
immediately felt her pain. She described the videos they were shown and the practice scenarios
they ran, and I couldn’t help but think back to my own experiences with lockdowns in school.
One memory that sticks with me is the image of police officers holding guns and conducting
backpack searches in high school because my geometry teacher received an email threatening to
shoot her and target our school. The fact that multiple scenarios like this come to mind is
frightening enough. But this time, I saw it through a different lens, through the eyes of a
first-grade teacher.

She told me how, in those moments, it becomes second nature to put her students before herself.
It’s almost like a teacher’s instinct to shield, comfort, and guide children who are too young to
even grasp the danger. For teachers like my mom, those kids aren’t just students…they’re her
kids. And the weight of protecting them is heavy and heartbreakingly real. What shook me most
was thinking about the possibility of losing my own mom in a place that’s supposed to be safe, a
place meant for learning.

School safety is about protecting those we love, whether that’s your own child, significant other,
or parent. It’s about ensuring that every student, teacher, and staff member walks into a school
building without fear, and walks out safely at the end of the day. No one should have to wonder
if a place meant for growth and discovery could become a place of tragedy. School should be a
place where curiosity is encouraged, friendships are formed, and memories are made. Not where
survival plans are rehearsed. We owe it to our loved ones to treat school safety not as a debate,
but as a shared responsibility.