High School Adds New Layer of Security

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

  • Upcoming University of Alabama Performing Arts Center Hits Construction Milestone

    The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala., recently celebrated the topping out of its new Smith Family Center for Performing Arts, according to a news release. The university is partnering with HPM for program and project management on the facility, which broke ground in 2023 and is scheduled for completion in November 2026.

  • UNL Kiewit Hall

    Designing for Engineering Excellence: Integrating Sustainability and Wellness at UNLs Kiewit Hall

    Kiewit Hall at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln exemplifies how academic institutions can integrate sustainability and wellness into modern learning environments. With an integrated and collaborative team approach, Kiewit Hall addresses enhanced learning and creativity, physical health, and mental wellness, and fosters a sense of community through innovative design, operations, and policy solutions.

  • classroom with crystal ball on top of a desk

    Call for Opinions: Spaces4Learning 2026 Predictions for Educational Facilities

    As 2025 winds to a close, the Spaces4Learning staff is asking its readers—school administrators, architects, engineers, facilities managers, builders, superintendents, designers, vendors, and more—to send us their predictions for educational facilities in 2026.

  • LSU Breaks Ground on $200M Residential Project

    Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La., recently broke ground on a new residential complex, according to university news. The South Quad residential project will consist of two buildings and add a total of 1,266 beds for freshmen students. The development comes with a price tag of $200 million, and it’s scheduled to open to students in fall 2027.

Digital Edition