A safe school is the result of collaborative teamwork between all the stakeholders in the school environment. Uniting disparate groups is hard work, and relies on a number of factors:
- All effective partnerships stem from real leadership.
- A successful collaborative approach to school safety is community-focused instead of facility-focused.
- It is important to view police and fire departments as partners, not services to call upon "as needed."
- Training and professional development is often missing from the school safety plan. Surprise "drills" are ineffective, so a successful collaboration requires well thought out plans, rehearsal, and training.