The Danger of Competing Priorities

Schools invariably face competing demands. It’s only natural. Parents, students, administrators, and boards all want the best for their institutions, and schools must devote considerable attention to the areas most closely associated with student success.

Professional development during the opening weeks of the academic year often reflects those priorities. Brain-based learning, curriculum design, instructional technology, and assessment practices are just a few of the topics that will probably sound familiar to many educators at this point in the year.

All of these are important.

Many of these same schools also have robust or evolving global studies programs—or, at the very least, experiential offerings that take students beyond the classroom, whether locally, domestically, or internationally.

Yet when schools are asked how they prepare the teachers and staff responsible for leading those experiences, the response is often some version of the same statement:

“We’ll do it later.”

When “Later” Is Too Late

Unfortunately, “later” often becomes a hurried 15-minute agenda item at the end of a faculty meeting—if it happens at all.

That creates significant risk for students, chaperones, and the institution.

Imagine that something happens during an off-campus experience. It could be an accident of unimaginable proportions—or simply a student breaking a bone down the street. Afterward, school leaders, families, insurers, or legal counsel may begin asking questions:

  • How were the chaperones prepared?
  • What protocols were they expected to follow?
  • Did they know whom to contact?
  • Were responsibilities and escalation procedures clearly established?
  • Could the school demonstrate that its personnel had received appropriate training?

“We didn’t get to it” will not inspire much confidence.

Safety Is an Educational Priority

Risk management and duty of care training deserve the same intentionality schools give to their academic and curricular initiatives.

Nearly every student will participate in an off-campus experience at some point. That makes preparation neither peripheral nor optional.

Do chaperones know how to respond during an emergency? Do they understand when a concern should be elevated—and to whom? Do schools have the appropriate systems, documentation, and communication protocols in place, even when students remain close to campus? Have chaperones practiced making decisions when circumstances are evolving and information is incomplete?

Most importantly, have they been prepared well enough to respond with clarity and confidence when a student needs them?

Too often, the answer is no—not because schools do not care, but because this preparation has not been given the same weight as other areas of professional learning.

Studying how students learn, improving curriculum, and strengthening classroom instruction are essential. But risk management and duty of care address decisions that may have immediate consequences for a student’s safety and well-being. This work belongs at the center of professional preparation, not at the end of an already crowded agenda.

From the Back Burner to Front and Center

Many schools across the country have already begun the academic year, while others are preparing to open their doors. As they consider their professional-development priorities, I urge school leaders to move risk management and duty of care from the proverbial back burner to front and center.

This is about more than responding to emergencies. It is about creating a culture of care, preparing employees to make sound decisions, protecting students, supporting chaperones, and being able to demonstrate that the institution has exercised thoughtful and responsible due diligence.

How can that be any less important than everything else we do?

The statement can no longer be, “We’ll get to it later.”

It must become:

“How soon can we begin?”