What's Happening in the Brain When Students Don't Feel Safe

Dr. Kimberly Honnick

Published on: 13/04/2026

In Part 2 of her 4-part series drawn from her AASA publication, Dr. Kimberly Honnick breaks down the neuroscience of belonging — what is literally happening in the brain when students don't feel safe, and why that changes everything about how school leaders approach culture, discipline, and learning. This is not soft work. This is science.