“I Don’t Feel Safe Here”: When Maslow Meets the Modern School System

Mo Martin
Jun 21
4 min read

7:30 a.m. The bell rings. Jaden, a 13-year-old 8th grader, walks through the school doors. His backpack is half-zipped, his hoodie pulled low. No breakfast. His mom was working the overnight shift, so he got himself out the door. Again.

He passes the posters in the hallway: “Excellence Is Expected!”, “High Performance = High Rewards!”, “Attendance = Achievement!”

But what if all he feels is… invisible?

The Foundation We Forgot

In 1943, psychologist Abraham Maslow introduced his Hierarchy of Needs—a five-tier model of human motivation. It begins with physiological needs (food, rest, health), moves up through safety, belonging, esteem, and culminates with self-actualization.

In education, this framework should be a blueprint. But in today’s schools, we’ve flipped the pyramid upside down—demanding high performance at the top, while ignoring the base.

According to Maslow, without fulfilling basic needs, people can’t reach their full potential—not in life, and certainly not in the classroom.

When Funding Becomes the Focus

Here’s the hard truth: many schools are no longer structured around students' foundational needs—they’re structured around funding.

Over the last decade, federal and state education budgets have increasingly tied funding to enrollment counts and academic performance. Grants like Title I, performance-based state bonuses, and even teacher salary supports are often tethered to these metrics.

While funding is essential to operate schools, this pressure to “produce” forces many administrators to prioritize numbers over needs.

More students = more grant dollars
Higher scores = more recognition and resources
But what happens when students become statistics, not souls?

The Consequences of a Broken System

Jaden’s story is not rare.

Recent reports from the National Center for Education Statistics (2023) found that only 48% of U.S. public schools felt equipped to meet their students’ mental health needs—a sharp drop from 56% in the previous school year.

Top barriers:

55% cited insufficient staff
54% said inadequate funding
49% lacked access to licensed professionals

Meanwhile, 58% of schools reported an increase in students actively seeking mental health help, and 19% said the increase was “significant.”

Students are asking for help. But help is slow to come.

And what about belonging? A 2018 PISA study revealed that nearly 1 in 3 students across OECD countries feel they don’t belong at school. U.S. students reported some of the highest feelings of isolation and anxiety in school environments.

When students don’t feel safe, connected, or valued, the data shows:

Lower academic performance
Higher dropout rates
Increased behavioral incidents
Heightened depression and anxiety symptoms

Maslow warned us. If students are hungry, scared, or unseen, they won’t—and can’t—learn.

The Turning Point: M.Y. Wellness 360

This is where Mission Youth Wellness steps in with its innovative initiative, M.Y. Wellness 360—a system designed to put students’ core needs back at the center of education.

Instead of waiting for students to fall apart, M.Y. Wellness 360 empowers schools to intervene early, with precision and compassion.

What Makes It Different?

🔹 Holistic Student ScreeningBuilt-in tools allow staff to routinely track, identify, and prioritize student needs. No more relying on instinct or waiting for breakdowns—real data informs real action.

🔹 Counselor Support, Not ReplacementThe program helps overburdened counselors organize and triage student concerns, reducing guesswork and allowing them to focus where it matters most.

🔹 SEL Integration with PurposeInstead of shallow programming, M.Y. Wellness 360 supports environments that strengthen emotional intelligence, connection, and resilience.

🔹 Strengthening School ClimateSchools using the platform see measurable shifts: improved attendance, fewer behavioral issues, and students who actually feel like they belong.

This isn’t just about programs. It’s about restructuring school priorities to meet Maslow’s first, most essential levels—so students can finally reach the top.

Back to Jaden…

2:10 p.m. Jaden slouches in the last row of his math class. He hasn’t turned in homework in three days. His stomach growls. There was a fight in the hallway during lunch and a lockdown drill right after.

The teacher sighs, marks his name again, and moves on.

But imagine a different scenario.

Imagine if, that morning, Jaden had completed a two-minute wellness check-in through M.Y. Wellness 360. His answers flagged emotional fatigue and food insecurity.

By 9:00 a.m., his school counselor had him on a priority list.By 9:30 a.m., he had a warm breakfast and someone who finally asked, “Are you okay?”

Education Needs a Wake-Up Call

We cannot keep demanding actualization from students who haven’t even been fed, heard, or protected.

Maslow’s message remains loud and clear: start at the bottom, or the top will collapse.Education is not just about reaching standards—it’s about restoring stability.

Mission Youth Wellness is working to rebuild that stability. One student, one need, one system at a time.

References

Maslow, A. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation, Psychological Review.
National Center for Education Statistics (2023). School Pulse Panel: Mental Health Services.
OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Student Well-Being Report (2018).
American Psychological Association (2022). The High Cost of Ignoring Student Mental Health.
Education Week (2022). Funding Models Shift Toward Performance Metrics in K–12.
CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey (2019 & 2023 updates).