By Robert Jordan, Founder — Protecting Our Students, Inc.

Every Child Deserves a Safe School — And We Can Make It Happen

Today, too many families send their children to school with a feeling of uncertainty about whether that environment is truly safe. Schools are meant to be sanctuaries — places where students can learn, grow, and thrive without fear. But our current school safety landscape remains fragmented, reactive, and inconsistent.

That’s why I founded Protecting Our Students, Inc., a national nonprofit committed to ending school shootings and strengthening safety for every K–12 campus in America. We believe every child — regardless of zip code, district, or community resources — deserves the same baseline of protection. That belief drives everything we do.

A New Path Forward: Standardizing School Safety

School safety efforts are often piecemeal. Different districts use different checklists, tools, and training programs, and many lack a universal way to evaluate risk consistently. That inconsistency contributes to what we call the “zip code safety lottery” — where a student’s safety depends more on where they live than on whether they are protected.

To change that, we’re developing SafeSchool MAP℠ — the nation’s first unified infrastructure standard for school security, built on a 94-Point Safety Zone Assessment. This diagnostic tool provides a data-driven, objective baseline for every school’s safety protocols, comparing them to a national gold standard.

By moving beyond subjective “hope-based” checklists, our framework delivers clarity, consistency, and accountability. When a school completes our assessment, it receives a transparent safety score that can be measured, tracked, and improved over time. This isn’t about fear — it’s about informed action.

Why Standardization Matters

Imagine if health screenings were done differently from hospital to hospital. Or if no national standards existed for food safety inspections. It’s unthinkable. Yet that’s the reality for school safety today. We believe safety should be standardized, scalable, and supported by data, not luck or resources.

Our approach also emphasizes collaboration — not only between administrators and families, but with local law enforcement, first responders, and safety professionals. This ensures that safety planning reflects not just compliance, but practical readiness and resilience.

Tools That Empower — Not Overwhelm

At Protecting Our Students, we offer more than advocacy — we offer actionable solutions:

• Free 94-Point Safety Diagnostic: Any school, anywhere, can begin with a no-cost assessment to understand current strengths and vulnerabilities.
• Real-Time Reporting & Insights: Our tools provide ongoing visibility into safety performance, helping leaders prioritize what matters most.
• Evidence-Based Frameworks: From threat and bullying prevention to emergency preparedness and mental health integration, our strategies cover the full spectrum of safety needs.

These tools are not just for administrators — they’re for parents, educators, and community members who want to understand and improve safety in their schools.

A Call to Action

We cannot continue to accept a system where safety varies from one community to the next. Our students deserve better. That’s why we invite you to take part — whether you’re a parent curious about your child’s school, a district leader seeking clarity, or a concerned citizen ready to help scale this movement.

Start with one simple step:

Enter your child’s school to begin a no-cost safety assessment. It’s the first, most critical action toward real, measurable protection. Your participation fuels a larger shift toward national standards that safeguard every student.

Together, we can transform fear into preparation, uncertainty into action, and fragmented systems into a unified standard of school safety.

Because when it comes to our children, every moment matters — and every school deserves to be safe.