When there are literally hundreds of mass shootings in the United States already on the books for 2022, it’s hard to know what to do about it. But when one of them happens at an elementary, people want to know what can be done to protect our precious, innocent children who represent our nation’s future. Parents shouldn’t have to live in constant fear about the safety of their children in the school environment. It’s high time to consider bulletproof glass school protection.
Taking Action Against School Shootings
In 2012 the nation’s heart was broken by the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where the shooter ended the lives of 20 children, six adults at the school, his own mother, and himself. A decade later and this time it’s a school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where the shooter killed 19 children and their two teachers. What is the solution? The debates continue in the nation’s public policy arenas. Options include stricter gun control, increased funding to mental health programs to help people in crisis, arming teachers, and hardening schools against gun attacks. Regardless of one’s political opinions, incorporating more security measures makes sense, including bulletproof glass school protection.
Planning for Bullet Proof Glass School Protection
Creative Industries has deep expertise in designing, creating, and providing installation guidance on a wide range of bulletproof glass products. Whether it’s a school’s exterior-facing windows or glass used throughout a school’s interior, we can help any school, college, or university be better prepared for the threat of gun violence with an added level of protection and security for students, teachers, and staff. Learn more about how our bulletproof glass for windows and related products can help in Bullet Resistant Windows for School as well as School Security Windows: Innovative Solutions for Greater Safety. While bulletproof glass products can’t entirely stop a determined shooter, they are a reliable way to add an extra layer of safety as part of an overall security improvement effort.
School Shooting Dual Protection: Cover and Concealment
Bulletproof products and designs can be incorporated into entryways and windows, and other exterior equipment are expanding the safety measures for school systems. Installation of these products helps to prevent and prepare for the threat of gun violence when it approaches a school from the outside. Other bulletproof glass and related products can be used inside classrooms and throughout the interior of a school to help protect students, teachers, and staff when an active shooter is able to get inside the school.
Take the humble school desk as an example. Creative Industries has created one that looks completely normal but contains two layers of bullet-resistant fiberglass to provide bullet-resistant protection at both far and close-range impact. With a solid frame extending to the floor, the desk acts as a bulletproof shield during an active shooter incident as well as a place to hide. This dual protective action of cover and concealment could save lives. Administrators, teachers, and students will have greater peace of mind knowing they can take cover and remain hidden if a gun attack occurs.
The classic appearance of the desk allows for the safety feature to seamlessly blend into the school environment without calling attention to the individual it protects. The bullet-stopping measures on the front and top of the desk provide coverage beneath the Formica design. The inclusion of bullet-resistant fiberglass and an added bullet-resistant plastic layer not only make the desk safe, but easy to maneuver. The desk can quickly be moved, flipped, or rotated as needed to provide protection.
But why stop there? Cafeteria tables could be made bulletproof, as could conference tables used in the school setting. Check out the following articles we’ve published about various aspects of bulletproof products that could help make schools safer:
- Bulletproof Furniture for Schools
- How the Nation could be Bulletproofing Schools in 2020
- Are Student Desks at School Bulletproof?
- Bullet Resistant Tables for Schools: Classrooms, Cafeteria, Boardrooms
- Parents and Bulletproof Backpacks in Schools
- Are Bulletproof Doors the Future of School Security?
Bulletproofing Schools: A Necessary Measure
Legislative solutions to school shootings are difficult to achieve and slow in coming. While the public policy debates continue about how to address both mass shootings and school shootings, in particular, greater safety could be achieved now with bulletproof glass school protection, along with other products mentioned above. In the wake of serious shootings like Sandy Hook and Uvalde, it can often be an overwhelming challenge to determine what schools can or should do. Conducting a safety audit of a school or campus environment can reveal holes in overall security that should be addressed.
Creative Industries continues to develop innovative products to address the needs of schools wanting greater security in the face of potential gun violence. We will happily work with any school district or individual school that wants to take action now rather than waiting for solutions from elsewhere that may never come. This is one case where doing something, anything, rather than nothing is important. Start by reaching out to us to begin the conversation through the contact page of our website or by calling us directly using our toll-free number: 800-776-2068. We’re here to help!