The State of Independent School Safety is the first US benchmark for how independent schools govern, manage and and invest in school safety. 83 schools contributed to the research survey, here's what we found.
are highly confident they know who is on campus at any given moment
average time for an independent school to account for all students in an emergency
cannot reliably confirm a missing student is safe within an hour of an unexplained absence
Independent research conducted by Orah & True North Research in partneship with ATLIS.
On a 0–10 scale, only 41% of school safety leaders rated themselves 8 or above when asked how confident they were their school knows who is on campus at any given moment. 1 in 5 scored 4 or below.
42% of schools take longer than 6 minutes. 29% take 8 minutes or more. Only 2% can complete a full rollcall in under 2 minutes. In a genuine threat scenario, that gap is the emergency.
Visitor management practices are fragmented. Most independent schools have some system, but adoption is uneven across school sizes. Few schools layer multiple controls, and a meaningful minority remain underprotected.
The most common verification method is staff recognizing families by sight.
See independent school benchmarks across 9 dimensions of school safety.
1. Incidents Independent Schools Are Facing
2. The Attendance-Safety Connection
3. Daily Safety Practices
4. Emergency Preparedness and Response
5. The Safety Technology Landscape
6. Safety Governance and Decision-Making
7. Spending and Investment Trends
8. Priorities for the Year Ahead
9. The Accountability Shift
See how your school compares. The report benchmarks real data from 85 independent schools on drills, student accountability, safety spend, and technology use. If you're making a case to your board or leadership team, this is the data to back it up.
Find the gaps before an incident does. 95% of schools still rely on manual steps to trigger an emergency response. 44% don't confirm an absent student is safe. The report shows where independent schools are most exposed -- and what higher-performing schools do differently.
Make smarter decisions on safety investment. With 54% of school leaders feeling constrained by budget or staffing, this report helps you prioritize. It covers what schools are spending, where investment is growing, and which tools are most associated with schools that rate their safety setup as highly effective.
We surveyed 85 independent school leaders to find out. The result is the State of Independent School Safety 2026 Report -- the most comprehensive look yet at how independent schools are managing student safety, day-to-day and in a crisis.
Conducted by True North Research. Co-presented with ATLIS. Based on responses from technology directors, heads of school, and operations leaders across the U.S.
