Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Minnesota Districts Implement SafeWood Designs Bullet-Resistant Products

  • By Matt Jones
  • 06/24/22

Following last month's elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, K–12 districts around the U.S. are turning their attention once again to security measures that can protect students. Local news reports that Minnesota K–12 school districts are reviewing products from SafeWood Designs, which manufactures bullet-resistant products for schools, including doors, wall panels, hardware systems, furniture, and even whiteboards.

“Our number-one goal in designing these products was to keep our kids safe while they are at school, plain and simple,” said Jason Horner, CEO of SafeWood Designs, Inc. “And, at the same time, maintain the everyday look and feel kids are used to in their schools. We believe we have accomplished our goal.”

Some Minnesota schools are reviewing options like bullet-resistant dry erase boards and tack boards. “At the bottom of the shutter, there’s a pin that locks into the floor, and it becomes, effectively, a shield and a place to stand,” said SafeWood Designs’ Tim Ganser of the dry erase board.

“The whole idea of school protection is to protect the hallways with our wall panel and protect the classrooms with a bullet-resistant door to shutter,” Ganser said. “Our hope is that if they’re installed in a classroom, they’re using it as a tool for the classroom. If there’s one unfortunate time that something does happen, they have the protection they need.”

A press release notes that SafeWood uses a three-zone approach to enhance and maximize student protection. Threshold Zone 1 consists of the primary entrances; Threshold Zone 2 is the second line of protection should the entrances be breached; and Threshold Zone 3 should be “a safe space designed to withstand a constant and prolonged attack,” the release said.

“Being proactive is key. We strongly encourage legislators to consider funding for bullet-resistant systems. If every classroom incorporated a bullet-resistant safe zone, it would not only offer protection when it’s most needed—but also offer additional, precious time for authorities to arrive," said Horner.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning and Campus Security and Life Safety. He can be reached at [email protected]

Featured

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey

    Spaces4Learning recently launched the 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey, which collects data on the previous year’s K–12 and higher education construction projects nationwide.

  • Q&A: How to Prevent Kitchen Grease Fires in Commercial Kitchens

    School cafeterias and university dining halls serve thousands of meals daily, relying on high-heat equipment like fryers, grills, and ovens. While these operations keep students fed, they also generate significant grease-laden vapors. Without proper controls, this grease becomes a silent fire threat. As a certified exhaust cleaning specialist and business coach who has helped hundreds of institutional facilities achieve NFPA 96 compliance, I emphasize that proactive grease management isn’t optional; it’s a core fire/life safety practice.

  • 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.

  • Opportunity by Design Framework

    Opportunity by Design

    Educational improvement efforts often focus on curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional development, and intervention systems while treating the physical school building as background. But school design is not a passive backdrop to learning — it is a structural lever for equity.