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

  • Cleveland High School Breaks Ground on Modernization

    Portland Public Schools in Portland, Ore., recently announced that construction has begun on a modernization project for Cleveland High School, according to a news release. The existing building will be replaced with a new, 300,000-square-foot facility at the same site.

  • Texas Recruitment

    Texas Recruitment

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The University of Texas at Austin's Texas Recruitment has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of Renovation.

  • Tennessee Middle School Completes Health, Life Safety Renovations

    The Giles County Board of Education in Pulaski, Tenn., recently announced that a series of renovation projects has been completed at Bridgeforth Middle School, according to a news release. The district partnered with Wold Architects & Engineers and Brindley Construction to modernize building systems at one of the district’s oldest schools.

  • Children walking along bright school corridor with motion blur

    How Next-Gen Design Is Reshaping the Student Experience

    The environments where students learn play a crucial role in shaping their growth in and out of the classroom. By centering design on well-being, flexibility, and purpose, districts can ensure their facilities remain vibrant community assets for many years to come.