Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Minnesota Schools Secure Entrances with State Safety Grants

  • By Yvonne Marquez
  • 10/07/19

Minnesota awarded $25 million in safety grants to 123 school buildings last fall, reported the MinnPost. The funding came out of last year’s state legislative session in response to safety concerns after the Parkland, Florida school shooting.

Since the Minnesota Department of Education received a high volume of applications (more than 1,150), the state decided to prioritize applications that focused on entrance and emergency communications upgrades. The state made final selections through a lottery system. No school got more than $500,000.

Here’s a brief look at how Minnesota schools used the grants awarded last fall:

Delano High School: The high school created a new secure entrance, added traffic barriers outside of the front door to prevent a vehicle from crashing through and renovated the administrative wing of the building. Visitors are now expected to walk into a vestibule then through a side door that leads to the front desk, where their driver’s license is screened and vetted before being able to gain access to the building.

Columbia Heights Public Schools: Construction has not started at two school sites that received funding but once renovations are complete, they will have an upgraded front entrance system like Delano schools.

Goodhue Public Schools: Almost all of the funding the district received will go toward upgrading the main school building with a secure entrance.

Chisholm Public Schools: One school located in the Iron Range will get a complete front office redesign, a new intercom system and the addition of a few security cameras.  

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Embry-Riddle Completes Construction on Research, Lab Facility

    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, Fla., recently announced the end of construction on a new research and lab facility on campus. The Center for Aerospace Engineering II (CAT II) will support aerospace research and technology development and broke ground last summer.

  • Dallas ISD Voters Approve $6.2B Bond Package

    Dallas ISD voters have approved a record-setting $6.2-billion bond package that district leaders say will modernize aging campuses, eliminate portable classrooms and reshape learning environments across one of the nation’s largest school systems.

  • UCF Modernizes College of Hospitality Management

    The University of Central Florida in Orlando, Fla., recently completed a major renovation effort for the Rosen College of Hospitality Management, according to a news release. The project modernized 77,600 square feet worth of academic classrooms, teaching labs, and collaborative spaces to support both students and faculty.

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.