Influential Women: Amy Schell Unites Executive Leadership And Advocacy To Restore Childhood Joy Through Safer Schools

ID, UNITED STATES, November 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Founder and President of the Foundation for Safer Schools and Senior Managing Director for Farmers Insurance in Washington State, Amy Combines More Than Two Decades of Leadership With a Mission to Protect Children

Children Should Walk into School Excited, Not Afraid
For many children, the walk into school should be one of the best parts of the day: friends, recess, a favorite teacher, something new to learn. But too many students today carry fear through the front doors instead of excitement. The Foundation for Safer Schools exists to change that, and to give children back the joy of a safe childhood.

The Foundation was started by Amy Schell, a Senior Managing Director for Farmers Insurance in Washington State with more than 20 years of experience leading agency growth and multi-state operations. She had spent her career understanding risk and protection, but she had no nonprofit experience, no curriculum, and no playbook. What she had was a conviction that childhood joy was being stolen, and that someone needed to act.

Today, the Foundation for Safer Schools is a nonprofit serving schools across the Inland Northwest, with a vision to make practical safety education and prevention programs available to schools nationwide. Its mission is simple and personal: restoring childhood joy, one student, one school, and one community at a time.

Three Pillars of a Safer, Happier School
The Foundation is built on the belief that meaningful school safety rests on three essential pillars: Awareness, Education, and Preparedness. Together, they help schools recognize potential dangers sooner, make informed decisions, and respond more effectively when every second matters.

“School safety shouldn’t be measured only by how we respond when something goes wrong,” says Schell. “It should also be measured by what we’re doing every day to prevent something from happening in the first place.”

Parents on Patrol: More Eyes, More Peace of Mind
The Foundation’s newest signature program, Parents on Patrol (POP), puts the Awareness pillar into action. Built on a volunteer approach, POP brings approved parents, grandparents, and community members into school safety as extra eyes and ears throughout the school day.

During morning drop-off, volunteers watch parking lots, entrances, and arrival areas. During the day, they add awareness at lunch and on the playground. At dismissal, they help monitor bus loading zones, exits, and student pickup. When something doesn’t seem right, they quickly alert school officials or call 911 in an emergency.

POP volunteers are not security officers, and they are not simply walk-ins. Every volunteer completes a background check, provides references, and attends training led by Dave Reid, who brings more than 27 years of law enforcement experience. Volunteers wear high-visibility vests and carry radios, so students, staff, and families can easily see them and staff can reach them quickly.

The result is about more than security. When children see familiar, caring adults watching over their school, they feel safer, and when they feel safe, they are free to simply be kids again.

“Parents already care deeply about protecting their children,” Schell explains. “POP gives them a way to become part of the solution. Sometimes the first step toward preventing a tragedy is simply having someone notice that something isn’t right.”

Education and Preparedness Complete the Picture
POP works alongside the Foundation’s other programs, each designed to build a culture of prevention rather than reaction:

S.A.F.E. Schools Program: learning modules that help teachers, administrators, and staff recognize risks, strengthen communication, and work as a team where everyone knows their role.
R.E.A.L. Futures: practical decision-making skills for grades 6 through 9, built on four principles: Refuse, Explain, Avoid, and Leave.
R.E.A.L. Choices: age-appropriate safety habits for students in kindergarten through 5th grade.
When Urgency Meets Capacity
Schell describes the biggest challenge in school safety as urgency colliding with capacity. The threats facing students are real and growing, from safety concerns on campus to a fentanyl crisis that has devastated communities across Idaho. Educators want to protect their students, but they don’t always have the funding, training, or staff time to do it alone.

That’s where the Foundation steps in. In 2026 alone, it has helped secure hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants and private funding for school safety. Schell has learned that the resources and the will to protect children already exist. What is often missing is the connector, and that is the role the Foundation for Safer Schools was built to play.

People, Purpose, and Being Real
Schell credits the Foundation’s growth to people and purpose, in that order and inseparable. Superintendents, educators, parents, business partners, and volunteers extend their trust, and she believes that trust is earned by showing up and following through every time. Tying her work to protecting children has given her a resilience she didn’t know she had. Difficult seasons don’t keep her down for long, because she knows exactly why she is getting back up.

The best career advice she ever received was simply to be real. When she started the Foundation, she assumed leading a nonprofit meant having all the answers. Instead, she found that people don’t follow perfection; they follow authenticity. School leaders and families can tell the difference between someone performing a mission and someone living one.

Her advice to young women is not to wait for an invitation: raise your hand, start the program that doesn’t exist yet, and apply for the grant everyone says you won’t get. Know your mission well enough to speak to real students, real schools, and real results. And find mentors who will tell you the truth and advocates who will say your name in rooms you haven’t entered yet. Much of her proudest work, including the Foundation itself, began with someone telling her it couldn’t be done.

A Mission She Never Clocks Out Of
Schell’s values come down to showing up, telling the truth, and protecting what matters. At the Foundation, that means being someone a superintendent can call knowing something will get done, and remembering that behind every program and grant is a child who deserves to feel safe. She doesn’t believe in being one person at work and another at home, and restoring childhood joy isn’t something she clocks out of.

Her commitment extends across the community. She has served on the membership and planning committee of her Chamber of Commerce, president of the LATIP organization, and is a member of the Idaho School Boards Association as well as ASMAT and its Field Development Subcommittee. She also writes about reinvention, the courage to begin again, and what founding a nonprofit taught her about purpose-driven leadership.

Join the Mission
“Protecting children isn’t the responsibility of just one person or organization,” says Schell. “It takes all of us. When parents, educators, and communities work together, we can make an extraordinary difference.”

Schools and parents can request a FREE School Safety Guide and learn how to bring Parents on Patrol to their school.

Businesses and community partners can help bring these programs to more schools through tax-deductible donations, sponsorships, and partnerships.

Learn more at www.foundationforsaferschools.org or call 877-664-2024. Read Amy’s Influential Women profile at influentialwomen.com/connect/amy-schell.

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