This explanatory sequential mixed methods study uses longitudinal survey data to understand NYC Teaching Fellows’ perceptions of and experiences with teaching in NYC Public High Schools. This study explores the correlation between these teachers’ objective and subjective social distance from their students and their experience with violence, including threats, attacks, and fights in their classrooms and schools. The findings suggest that the likelihood of experiencing violence is negatively correlated with teachers being Black, Asian, or Latinx and positively correlated with teachers' self-reflectiveness. Additionally, while most teachers perceive the subjective social distance from students similarly, those who are more reflective and adopt reflective pedagogy conceptualize these dimensions differently from their less reflective peers.