Jan 2019 AST Magazine Jan 2019 AST Magazine | Page 53

Current
wall coverings of-
www.AmericanSecurityToday.com
fer no ballistic protection.
January 2019 - Edition 31
Therefore, we are teaching
people to hide, when in ac-
tuality, there is little to no
effective protection from
an active shooter.
As members of the secu-
rity industry, how do we
develop and make avail-
able truly effective safe
spaces within our na-
tion’s classrooms?
Today.com
‘Duck and cover’ was a widely-taught method of personal protection
taught and drilled in the nation’s schools against the effects of a nuclear
explosion, during the Cold War.
Assuming we could create and pro- children in advance of an emergency
vide such spaces, the next question be- situation, to become familiar and ac-
comes, “how might we prepare small customed to utilizing these spaces?”
Students hiding in a classroom after being evacuated from Freeman High School
in Rockford, WA, on Sept 13, 2017, after a 15 yo student opened fire killing one
student, and injuring three others. (Courtesy of ChristinaXX/Twitter)
By combining these two
lines of thought, pro-
viding a cost-effective
ballistically protect-
ed space and prepar-
ing third graders and
younger to comfort-
ably utilize these spac-
es without instilling
fear in them or alarming
of them, Doug came up
with a truly innovative ap-
proach utilizing mobile
wall panels manufac-
51