Creating Emotionally Safe Schools, Second Edition

Whether students feel stressed or supported has a profound impact on their success, sense of belonging, and behavior. Designed as a guide for education professionals and parents, this book explores emotional safety, its effect on learning, and practical strategies for fostering well-being. Discover how to shape students’ emotional responses by modeling healthy expression, building community, and nurturing self-awareness and self-management.

K–12 administrators and teachers can use this book to:

• Foster emotional safety and belonging in schools
• Address how stress and anxiety impact the learning environment
• Address students’ emotional needs and cultivate positive relationships in the classroom
• Strengthen classroom management with healthy approaches and practices
• Maintain authority while balancing structure with freedom

Contents:
Introduction
Part I: Dimensions of a Very Big Picture
Chapter 1: What Safety Is
Chapter 2: The Heart of the Matter—Feelings and School
Chapter 3: Safety—It’s a Brain Thing
Chapter 4: Learning and the Brain
Chapter 5: Body and Mind
Chapter 6: Where Children Are Coming From—Stress and Adaptation
Chapter 7: Over the Edge—A World of Violence
Chapter 8: Brave New World—The Changing Role of the School
Chapter 9: All Are Welcome Here—The Need for Community
Chapter 10: Snags in the Tapestry
Chapter 11: More Welcome Than Others—Discrimination and Belonging
Chapter 12: How Does Your Garden Grow? More Diversity, More Discrimination
Part II: The Toolbox
Chapter 13: Academic Safety—Learning and Success
Chapter 14: Emotional Safety—Personal and Character Development
Chapter 15: Social Safety—Belonging and Interpersonal Competence
Chapter 16: Behavioral Safety—Discipline and Cooperation
Chapter 17: Physical Safety—The Student Body
Part III: The Grownups
Chapter 18: Teacher Safety—Protecting the Protectors
Chapter 19: The Collaborators—Parents and Community
Epilogue: Are We Almost There Yet?
Appendix
References and Resources
Index