Pennsylvania SD Adds Bullet-Resistant Glass to New School Plans

The Wilkes-Barre Area School District approved an upgrade to safety measures for a new high school still under construction. The school board voted to add bullet-resistant glass along the building’s perimeter and in the school’s entryway. The glass adds a $460,000 cost to the project and will be installed by Sterling Glass.

"Unfortunately, this — school shootings, and active shootings, shooters — [is] something we have to contend with and deal with, and this is a measure we can take to try to make those kids as safe as possible," Shawn Walker, vice president of the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board, told a local news reporter.

The total budget for the project is $121 million and includes $7 million for contingent expenses. The new school will combine the district’s three high schools into one.

Construction for the new high school began earlier this year and is expected to be completed in 2021.

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • California Middle School Breaks Ground on Major Renovation Project

    The Hillsborough City School District (HCSD) in Hillsborough, Calif., recently began construction on new multipurpose and administration facilities for Crocker Middle School, according to a news release.

  • Porter Family Center

    Porter Family Center for Innovation and Academics

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The Porter Family Center for Innovation and Academics has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • 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.

  • Hawaii Elementary School Reopens Following $25M Campus Modernization

    Haʻaheo Elementary School in Hilo, Hawaii, has reopened to students following a three-year, $25-million campus modernization and expansion project that significantly increases the school's instructional space while preserving one of the island's oldest educational institutions, according to local news.