Overview

School safety isn’t defined by what we stop—it’s defined by what we strengthen. In Assessing the Future, retired U.S. Navy Senior Chief and Certified School Safety Professional Mark T. Zirtzlaff introduces the TIRRA+™ model, helping schools move beyond checklists toward regulation, recovery, and relational trust.

 

This companion to *Protecting the Next Generation* offers a practical, emotionally intelligent framework for evaluating what truly matters in school safety: predictable adult behavior, climate, and connection.

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What This Book Helps You Do

• Evaluate safety through a trauma‑informed, climate‑focused lens

• Identify strengths and uncover hidden gaps in school systems

• Strengthen adult consistency and predictable practices

• Integrate regulation and recovery into crisis readiness

• Move from observation to transformation using the TIRRA+™ model

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Who This Book Is For

• District and school leaders

• Safety and crisis response teams

• Educators and student services staff

• Policy makers and board members

• Anyone responsible for assessing or improving school safety

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How It Connects to Your Frameworks

Assessing the Future expands the trauma-informed foundation established in Protecting the Next Generation and introduces the TIRRA+™ model as a practical tool for evaluating readiness, climate, and relational trust.

 

It reinforces your core principles:

• Safety is strengthened through predictable adult behavior

• Regulation and recovery are essential components of readiness

• Assessment must honor both physical security and emotional well-being

• Trust is the foundation of every safe school