Educators are often the first to notice when something changes with their students. A once-engaged student becomes withdrawn. A typically calm student shows sudden bursts of anger. These observations are valuable but knowing what to do with them can feel overwhelming.
Schools frequently discuss risk factors and warning signs, but these terms are easy to confuse. Understanding the difference isn’t just academic; it’s essential for creating safer learning environments. This blog will clarify what distinguishes risk factors from warning signs, share practical examples, and show how everyone in your school community plays a vital role in keeping students safe.
Why Understanding This Difference Matters
School safety isn’t the sole responsibility of counselors or administrators. Every staff member, from teachers to bus drivers, contributes to the safety network that surrounds students each day.
Research shows that many incidents of school violence involve pre-incident indicators that were noticed but not reported. While picking up on risk factors, like a drop in a student’s grades, can signal a need to check-in; warning signs communicate urgency and a need to follow-up with the student immediately. When educators understand what they’re observing and recognize how it relates to risk, it can help them know each step to take to respond and when immediate action is needed, making a difference in preventing escalation.
At times, warning signs include behaviors that violate school rules or expectations. While consequences for their behaviors may be appropriate based on a code of conduct or discipline policy, these students are also communicating through their behavior that they need help. Part of the goal is to recognize when students need help and ensure they receive appropriate support. While most students who show concerning behaviors are not planning an act of violence, a school community that works together to notice signs allows support to be provided before issues escalate.
To recognize early signs of concern effectively, we need to distinguish between risk factors and warning signs.
Understanding Risk Factors
Risk factors are background conditions or characteristics that may increase a student’s likelihood of experiencing difficulties or engaging in problematic behavior. Think of them as underlying vulnerabilities or stressors.
Examples of risk factors include:
- History of being bullied or experiencing harassment
- Family instability or exposure to violence at home
- Poor impulse control or difficulty managing emotions
- Substance abuse or mental health challenges
- Social isolation or rejection by peers
- Academic struggles or chronic attendance problems
- Access to weapons or concerning materials
Risk factors fall into two categories: static factors that don’t change (like past experiences with violence) and dynamic factors that can shift over time (like current academic performance or social connections).
Here’s the crucial point: a student may have several risk factors but never pose a threat to anyone. Risk factors help us understand which students might benefit from additional support, connection, and resources. They’re about building awareness and recognizing student needs, not making assumptions.
Recognizing Warning Signs
Warning signs are different. These are specific behaviors or statements that suggest a student may be moving toward potentially harmful actions. Warning signs are time-sensitive and indicate escalating concern.
Examples of warning signs include:
- Direct or indirect threats of violence
- Obsessive talk about weapons or violence
- Identifying specific targets for revenge or harm
- Expressing feelings of hopelessness or desperation
- Sudden withdrawal from normal activities or relationships
- End-of-life planning behaviors
- Dramatic changes in appearance or self-care
Warning signs often involve what experts call “leakage” when students communicate their violent thoughts or plans to others, either directly or indirectly. Sometimes this appears as concerning artwork, writing, or social media posts.
These examples and more are outlined in the Creating Safer Schools: Preventing Violence and Understanding Threats webinar, including how students sometimes communicate their intent directly.
The key difference: risk factors help explain why a student might be vulnerable and capture trends or changes in how they are functioning that can alert others of a need for help. Warning signs reveal when concern is escalating, and immediate attention is needed.
Connecting the Dots
The combination of risk factors and warning signs creates a clearer picture of urgency. A student with multiple risk factors who begins displaying warning signs requires immediate attention and support.
This is why communication among all staff members matters so much. An educator might notice a concerning statement, while a coach observes behavioral changes, and a cafeteria worker witnesses a student sitting alone scrolling through violent videos. Only when these observations are shared can the complete picture emerge.
Everyone’s observations contribute valuable pieces to the puzzle.
Understanding the difference isn’t just academic; it’s essential for creating safer learning environments.
What to Do When You See a Concern
When you notice something concerning, follow this simple framework: Notice, Document, Report.
Notice: Trust your instincts. If something feels different or concerning about a student’s behavior or statements, pay attention to that feeling.
Document: Write down specific observations—what you saw, heard, or noticed, along with the date and context. Concrete details help threat assessment teams make informed decisions.
Report: Share your observations with the appropriate person in your building, whether that’s an administrator, counselor, or designated threat assessment team member.
Don’t hesitate to report even if you’re uncertain whether something rises to the level of concern. It’s better to share information that turns out to be less significant than to miss something important. School threat assessment processes are designed to evaluate information and determine appropriate next steps.
Building a Culture of Awareness and Support
Creating safer schools requires shared responsibility. When every school community member understands their role in recognizing and reporting concerns, students receive better support and schools become more secure.
The most effective approach combines awareness with compassion. A culture of reporting grows strongest when everyone sees that concerns lead to help.
Remember that threat assessment isn’t an adversarial process. It is about understanding students’ needs and connecting them with appropriate resources and support.
Ready to deepen your understanding of school safety and threat assessment? Watch our comprehensive webinar on coordinating effective approaches to school safety for additional strategies, real-world examples, and practical tools you can implement in your school community.
