Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

High School Adds New Layer of Security

  • 11/01/16
ballistic protection

Ohio’s Canfield High School improves school safety with frontline ballistic protection

The need for innovative solutions to counter the U.S. school shooting epidemic becomes more urgent each day, as our country now experiences an incident almost every week, according to public service website EveryTown for Gun Safety. It’s an eyeopening statistic for school administrators and parents who prefer to believe those situations can’t occur under their watch.

Canfield High School, named as one of Newsweek’s Top Public High Schools in 2016, responded to that statistic. The Ohio school wanted to provide a high level of security while maintaining an open and inviting learning environment. The school also needed a solution that would work with its existing Emergency Action Plan and response protocol training, the ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) methodology. The school selected and installed WonderTiles from Safe Place Solutions to meet those needs.

The customized ballistic surface tiles were installed to harden public and communal areas of the school. Built to withstand up to NIJ Level III attacks, WonderTiles offer the highest level of ballistic personal protection currently available. Should the school ever need to employ Lockdown mode as part of the ALICE protocol, the tiles will be in place to protect the school and occupants.

“Safe Place Solutions has effectively covered our students and faculty against the threat of an active shooter attack,” says Canfield schools Superintendent Alex Geordan. “Our ALICE protocol combined with the WonderTiles protection will buy time until help arrives.”

Safe Place Solutions is a subsidiary of Clifton Steel, a pioneer in the design and manufacturing of ballistic armor for the U.S. military for more than two decades. Safe Place Solutions creates a range of ballistic products that help provide additional layers of protection, empowering administrators to implement the most comprehensive protection plans available. For more information, visit blockbullets.com.

www.blockbullets.com

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Can AI Help Build Stronger Communities in Student Housing?

    Student housing success is shifting from operational performance to student experience, with belonging now at the center. A recent 2025 report underscores a growing emphasis on student well-being, community, and engagement, signaling that expectations now extend beyond logistics to ensure students feel supported in their living environments. AI is enabling that shift by reducing administrative workload and giving teams more time to focus on meaningful student engagement.

  • California K–12 District Finishes Renovations on Multi-Sport Stadium

    The Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) in Alameda, Calif., recently announced the completion of a renovation project on the Encinal Jr. & Sr. High School stadium, according to a news release. The district partnered with Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA) and Bothman Construction on the facility, and funding came from Bond Measure B.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.

  • UT System Approves First Funds for New Campus

    The University of Texas System Board of Regents recently approved funds to build the first facility of a new campus in far west Fort Worth, Texas, according to university news. UTA West will serve as a branch of the University of Texas at Arlington and is scheduled to open in fall 2028.