A school district had issued a clear directive: 

All classroom doors must remain closed and locked throughout the school day. 

It was a blanket policy meant to reduce vulnerability.
No exceptions. 

I was doing a Safe & Loved Assessment so I could create a Safe & Loved Plan for the district. I arrive before the students and leave after them. I look at everything, strengths and areas for improvement. 

As I walked the halls, it was immediately clear that the directive was not being followed. Not even close. 

The door handles were locked but nearly every door was propped open. 

Instead of jumping straight to a negative critique, I paused and asked the question, why are they not closing their doors? 

Most people have a reason for what they do. 

So for the rest of the day, I just watched and what I found wasn’t neglect or laziness. It was community. 

The teachers truly liked each other.
They deeply trusted each other.
They kept the doors open to wave hello, share coffee, check in and they checked in all day long. 

I’ve never seen so many teachers visit so many other classrooms in one day. Never. It was a flurry of activity and also beautiful. Smiling faces, caring gestures, open hearts. Everything a school is supposed to be! 

You see it wasn’t defiance that kept the doors open.
But a genuine love for each other. 

Here’s the twist. 

While the doors being left open was technically unsafe, keeping them open was actually increasing safety. Not because of the door, but because of what was behind it. A network of adults who truly knew, loved, looked out for one another and wanted to protect each other. 

So I didn’t go to the principal with a clipboard of violations. I went with one recommendation. If you enforce the rules of closing the doors, you will reduce your vulnerability. If you force the doors shut you will hurt your culture. 

I’m a firm believer that you never destroy something beautiful and you never hurt a positive culture. Build on it, make it better, but never hurt it. 

The heights of your culture will determine the level of your safety. 

So I recommended leaving the doors open because of the remarkable trust, unity, love, and togetherness it is facilitating. Locks and doors are necessary for great school safety but so is a loving culture. 

However, if you violate a proven violence prevention principle (access control via a locked and closed door) then you must mitigate it.
If you can’t mitigate it, you can’t do it. 

You can’t violate a principle and not tip the scales back in your favor in some other way. 

So I added that to keep the doors open the staff must be able to lock down in 7 seconds or less. This way, we can have both safety and love. 

If they can’t do that...won’t do that…then the doors must be closed and locked. 

What does this mean to you? 

So many safety initiatives fail because they treat human behavior as the problem, instead of seeing it as the solution.
I’m certain it’s the solution. 

And while a locked door can slow or stop a threat...it’s people who stop violence long before it becomes a threat and people who are connected respond faster, report earlier, and intervene better. 

I would never say to ignore physical measures.

But you have to look deeper. 

What’s behind the behavior?
In this case it wasn’t resistance but relationships. 

We cannot afford to enforce rules without understanding why people follow or bend them. Because in this case, the behavior wasn’t reckless. 

It was relational, beneficial, and beautiful. 

That level of caring makes for the best type of safety.
And it was working. 

If you can, remember to always ask why first.
Why is that behavior happening? 

Then seek the to find the true answer and it will give you real clarity.
Clarity allows you to make better decisions.
Better decisions equals great protection.

End the Guesswork.
Want to know what’s working and where you can improve?
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