The Air We Breathe: Why Psychological Safety Is the Foundation for Success in Schools
By: Dr. Ruby Ababio-Fernandez
Imagine a school where teachers arrive early, work tirelessly, and care deeply about their students. The energy feels warm, even friendly. But underneath, something is missing.
The culture is congenial, not collegial. People prioritize being nice over being honest. When feedback happens, it’s often softened to maintain one another’s comfort. A teacher might say, “We know it’s hard and we’re all doing the best we can.” Another might say, “They observed me today, I’m not sure what they thought,” and no one probes further. Staff meetings are more call-and-response than dynamic exchanges. Heads nod in agreement, but hard questions stay unspoken.
Everyone is “doing the work,” but few stop long enough to critically name what isn’t working or to take creative risks. The result is a nice compliance that looks like harmony but actually masks a culture devoid of growth and progress.
This is what a lack of psychological safety looks like. The absence is subtle but powerful, a tightening in the air that limits curiosity and suppresses learning.
Psychological safety is the shared belief that within our community, it’s safe to take risks, ask questions, share feedback, admit mistakes, or challenge ideas without fear of embarrassment or punishment because who we are and what we bring here matters. It’s what makes innovation, trust, and genuine learning possible. Without it, people perform tasks, but transformation never happens.
In education, psychological safety is far from a nice-to-have; it’s an absolute must! It’s a structural condition that determines whether learning, equity, and excellence can thrive. When educators feel safe, they engage in honest reflection. They test new ideas and co-create a curriculum that honors diverse voices and experiences.
3 Ways Leaders Can Cultivate Psychological Safety in Turbulent Times
Make Psychological Safety a Design Principle, Not a Slogan
Leaders can’t simply declare that a school is safe, they must intentionally design for it. This begins with structures that invite reflection, dialogue, and learning from failure and experience. Protecting time for check-ins, debriefs, inquiry cycles, and feedback sessions where the goal isn’t evaluation, but shared growth. When leaders model curiosity and transparency, saying, “Here’s what I’m learning,” or “I missed that, let’s revisit it” they actually normalize imperfection and create permission for others to grow. This further models the structures and routines that educators implement in their classroom for students like community circles (see Harmony’s Meet Up practice).
Build Structures for Collaboration, Not Competition
In schools that thrive, adults learn together. They observe one another not to judge, but to discover. They analyze data collectively, not defensively. They challenge ideas, not people. They ask, “What are we not seeing?” and they do so not to assign blame, but to learn together.
Leaders can strengthen this culture by creating learning communities and protocols that encourage shared accountability where educators hold one another to their dreams, not just their duties. True collaboration replaces quiet compliance with dynamic engagement. Using quick community building activities, like Harmony’s Quick Connection Cards can help adults begin to safety and comfort in working together.
Attend to the External Pressures That Spill on Internal Climate
Today’s educators navigate a complex world. We are living out policies that are leaving real impact, including deep fear of physical safety and wellbeing that makes conversations about who we are individually, culturally, and socially feel risky. Diminishing resources continue to stretch emotional capacity thin. These external forces seep into school culture and can erode energy, confidence and trust. Leaders who name these pressures out loud, who make space for empathy, context, and humanity help staff feel seen and supported. Safety grows when people know their realities are acknowledged, not ignored.
When leaders commit to these practices, schools become what they were always meant to be: Places where adults and students can breathe, belong, and be brave together.
Psychological safety doesn’t make the work easy; it makes the work possible, even in turbulent times. When people feel safe enough to be real, they also feel safe enough to learn. And that’s where transformation begins — with the courage to show up as our full selves, together!
About Dr. Ruby Ababio-Fernandez
With an unyielding commitment to transforming the lives of adults, children, communities, and school systems, Dr. Ruby brings over 23 years of experience in education and leadership. She has held multiple senior roles, including Associate Vice President for Equity and Leadership Development at the New York City Leadership Academy (NYCLA), Deputy Superintendent, Senior Executive Officer, and Chief Strategy Officer for the New York City Department of Education. She currently serves as Superintendent in Residence at McGraw Hill, where she continues her mission of advancing learning outcomes, leadership, and systemic transformation.
