Giving Compass' Take:

• Education Dive reports on the six improvements and main renovations in school design of Sandy Hook Elementary. 

• Are more schools leaning toward changing school design to increase safety or hiring more security and police officers? 

• Read more about the role of school design when increasing school safety.

As school violence incidents continue to impact classrooms and communities nationwide, policymakers are tasked with creating preventive legislation, law enforcement teams work to devise better emergency plans and architects conceptualize safer schools designs.

At Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, things are a bit more personal.  And while administrators, for obvious reasons, have kept quiet about details of the new security measures, anyone who looks at the building can glean some lessons from the redesign.

  1. Lots of windows isn’t a bad thing: The increased transparency makes it nearly impossible to miss an approaching threat, but laminated glass technology keeps it resistant to impact.
  2. Small details can make a big difference: Smaller, more subtle measures at the school, including classroom doors that look like wood — but are actually 350 pounds of stainless steel — automatically lock when closed and notify the school if left open, which could make the difference if a threat were to ever occur.
  3. Investing in hi-tech security measures: Small fixes can make a big difference in some cases of school violence threats, but if a school can afford to purchase some of the bigger, more sophisticated security systems, they can only help to boost safety.
  4. Playing with shapes and spaces: Rather than being a straight line, the school’s roof is shaped like a wave to blend in with the landscape, as well as to replicate the hills of the Newtown area.
  5. Looking beyond the walls: The new Sandy Hook Elementary sits further back on the property than it did before, and it isn’t easily seen from the main road.
  6. Giving students a personal touch: The new Sandy Hook Elementary has a few personal touches from the old school that helped any returning students feel at home.

Read the full article about Sandy Hook renovations by Jessica Campisi at Education Dive