School Spends $48 Million On Curved Corridors, Hiding Places For Kids To Stay Safe From Shooters

As of July 31, 2019, 248 mass shootings have occurred in 2019 so far. This averages out to 1.2 shootings per day. In these shootings, 979 people were injured and 246 died (for a total of 1,325 victims). Now if that staggering statistic isn't enough to ensure that better precautions are being taken in schools and public places all over the country, just take a moment to re-read the fact that there have been more mass shooting incidents than the number of days passed this year. Also, what about that gun control now? Luckily, some organizations are going to deal with this issue in their own way. Fruitport High School in Michigan is taking no risks with another horrific event. Going by the timeless phrase "Prevention is Better than Cure", they are now the first school in America to be rebuilt with an architectural design that is specifically made to help students and teachers alike, in the case of an armed attack.

Bob Szymoniak, Fruitport High School's superintendent, believes these will become part of the structure of all schools in America. "These are design elements that are naturally part of buildings going into the future," he told The Washington Post. He said that the terrifying occurrences of mass shooting attacks in the United States were the main reason for this massive change in their school. The superintendent particularly cited the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut and the 2018 massacre at the Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.

The outlet reported that an ongoing $48 million construction project will renovate existing sections of the school to add elongated, arching hallways to reduce an active shooter’s sightline, theoretically cutting down on the number of casualties if a gunman opened fire. Classrooms will also be redesigned in such a way that students can easily find places to hide in case of any emergency. Aside from that, the windows that separate corridors from classrooms will be enhanced with impact-resistant film and the doors will be electronically controlled by the school's administrators who will have access to technology that can instantly lock every door in the school with the press of a button. 

Superintendent  Szymoniak told WZZM that “This building will be the safest, most secure building in the state of Michigan when it opens,” adding that construction is expected to wrap up in 2021. "Once completed, all classrooms in the school will also feature a corner that cannot be seen from the hallway and administrators will have the ability to instantly lock doors to the rooms with the push of a button", Szymoniak said. "Our ask is that our community be very understanding, keep the eyes on the prize because when our high school is done it's going be magnificent," he added.

An open house is planned at the school in October and school officials will host a special event in December to unveil the new classrooms, WZZM reports.  “If I go to FPH and I want to be an active shooter, I’m going in knowing I have reduced sight-lines,” Szymoniak told the newspaper. “It has reduced his ability to do harm.” “I don’t want to have to have these conversations,” Szymoniak said. “I don’t want to have to worry about having a school designed to prevent an active shooter.”