For twenty years, Eric Combs stood watch over some of the nation's highest-value people and places. He has spent the years since bringing that same discipline, steadiness, and care into America's schools. He helps schools stay safe, keeps students engaged and motivated, and gives teachers calm, well-run classrooms, without turning buildings into fortresses.
Very few people have stood guard over nuclear weapons and also stood in front of a room of ninth graders. Eric has done both. That combination is why schools trust him with the problems that do not have easy answers: the safety plan that has to actually work, the classroom that has come apart, the teacher who is one hard week away from walking away.
Degrees M.Ed., University of Dayton · M.Ed. Educational Leadership, Antioch · B.A. Forensic Anthropology
Faculty Adjunct, Wright State University & Antioch University Midwest
Recognition Who's Who Among American Teachers, four years · National Trainer, Time to Teach
Three areas, in the order schools most need them: school safety and security first, then student engagement, then classroom management. No fly-in theory and no sit-and-get. Eric leaves your staff with strategies they can use the next morning, and most classroom courses carry one to three hours of graduate credit.
Most safety pitches sell hardware. Eric works on the part that actually prevents incidents: trained people, sound habits, and a plan everyone in the building knows. Common sense over cameras, and much of this work is fundable through school safety grants.
Personal protection made practical for every staff member, then mapped onto the Standard Response Protocol so everyone knows their job during Hold, Secure, Lockdown, and Evacuate.
Request this training →Partnering schools with rural law enforcement and first responders to build a real, practiced emergency plan. Awareness and decision-maker levels available.
Request this training →An outside set of eyes sees what daily routine hides. Eric spends a day watching how your building really runs, then hands you a prioritized list of fixes, many of them free, that raise security without making school feel like a prison.
Request this training →Intensive practice for your safety team: threat assessment, harbor points, communication protocols, and relationships with local responders built before you need them.
Request this training →Don't see exactly what you need? Eric builds it. Every building is different, so some of the best work starts as a blank page. When one district needed safety and security support built specifically for their bus drivers, Eric created it. Tell him the gap and he designs training that fits your people, your setting, and your goals.
The hardest students to reach are the ones who are physically present but checked out. Storytelling, Synectics, Hot Seat, and more give teachers concrete ways to capture attention, build belonging, and pull those students back in. When students feel seen, they show up and they stay with it, and every method is something teachers can use in tomorrow's lesson.
Request this training →Reclaim weeks of instructional time, cut office referrals, and hold on to good teachers. Managing behavior is the number one reason teachers leave the profession. Diffusers, unconditional positive regard, and the Refocus method help students learn to change their own behavior instead of being punished for it, taught by someone who has run the hardest rooms.
Request this training →Eric's books and classroom resources. Add what you need to the cart and Eric sends you an invoice. Everything is in the full store.
The award-winning story of a senior military leader who retires, walks into a public school, and finds a system barely held together by the people inside it. Honest, funny, and hard to put down.
From protecting presidents and high-value assets to protecting your building. Part one builds safe habits in everyday life. Part two brings them into the classroom and the hallway.
I am shaking my head reading this article about a local PD who, probably with the best of intentions, have turned an act...
Read more →Common sense safety and security for schools, more than active shooter drills.
Read more →Open sessions you can join, plus courses you can request for your own school. Eric keeps this current himself, so what you see is what is actually on the calendar.
No public sessions are on the calendar right now. Eric brings any of his trainings on-site for your school or district.
"Mission Critical takes the reader on a mission behind enemy lines to explore the issues that plague public education. Eric Combs' story of honor, courage, and duty is a must read for every teacher in America."
"Proof that the real deal still exists in this age of politicians using education as a political football. Inspirational, heart-warming, and full of 'oh no you didn't' moments."
"Where was this book when I needed it? A must read for anyone concerned about today's education."
Tell Eric about your school. He reads every message himself and will help you build a plan that fits your building, your staff, and your budget.