Essentials Magazine Essentials Spring 2018 | Page 7

Campus Safety
O
n March 14, 2018, students across the United States staged
a walkout to voice their objections to the normalcy of gun
violence in our schools. Given the staggering statistics, their
actions are understandable. According to CNN, there has been an
average of one school shooting every single week in 2018.
with windowless cell-like classrooms.
Others highlight that the generally
accepted prioritized order of response
— “run, hide, fight” — suggests a
more transparent environment so that
you can see and react to dangerous
situations. Then there are those who
like the #NeverAgain movement and
the “March for Our Lives” demonstra-
tion that took place on March 24.
The onslaught of these tragedies has
school communities throughout the
U.S. evaluating their safety protocols.
The obvious goal: to keep our children
safe and to minimize the chances that
their school will be the next to re-
ceive national coverage for a violent,
life-ending act. The debate on how to
accomplish this rages on. Some say we
need to design fortress-like facilities promote the arming of teachers.
One thing that should not be debat-
ed is the value of human life and that
the primary function of our schools
is to educate our children. Safety and
security in learning environments is
a complex issue and while we do not
profess to have all of the answers, here
we hope to provide rational and justifi-
able safety measures that can support
educational missions and prevent or
mitigate threats.
Research on ideal learning spaces
An ongoing Washington Post
analysis finds that more than 150,000
primary and secondary school students
have experienced a campus shooting
since the massacre at Columbine High
School. The numbers continue to rise
and have ignited student-led campaigns
calls for agility, student choice and
collaborative environments where
students and teachers easily move be-
tween classrooms and a variety of other
flexible spaces. In these environments,
transparency gives teachers visibility
and puts learning on display. We un-
derstand that balancing school security
with the innovative, future-ready learn-
ing environments our kids need is a
complex challenge leading many to ask
if it even is possible. We believe it is.
As design professionals we strive to
meet project goals and in the case of
schools, the primary mission is to edu-
cate. As we work with clients to create
safe, future-ready schools, we feel it is
important to ask the following:
• How do we balance safety with
the educational mission?
• Do we want our children to feel
like they are entering a more institu-
tional environment?
• Are we ready to look at physical,
technical, and procedural alternatives
to maintain the educational mission?
• Are we willing to review rational
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