US schools take hard-line approach to shootings

Enrollment rises

Some school districts are considering following the example of Quitman, Arkansas, which in 2018 installed safety pods to protect against shooters. These pods are made of ballistic steel capable of stopping bullets from handguns, shotguns and semi-automatic high-caliber weapons.

The pods, originally manufactured as tornado shelters for schools, cost $15,000 to $30,000 for a typical classroom.

Quitman School District Superintendent Dennis Truxler wrote in a media release that the district's student enrollment rose by about 20 percent after the pods were installed, citing "parents' desire to send their kids to a safer school".

However, many Twitter users felt differently.

One user said: "We don't have space for books, desks or extra school supplies to promote learning in our school's classrooms. We have to have space for these gigantic safety pods so people can have their military-grade weapons."

Amy Klinger, a school safety expert and director of programs for the Educator's School Safety Network, thinks turning to such products is indicative of a wider problem.

"We tend to respond to events like the tragedy in Uvalde with a quick solution. Let's do a quick fix. Let's buy something really fast," she told National Public Radio. "And we tend to look at something shiny and go, 'Hey, let's buy that thing'."

She said the problem with buying such items is "it makes people feel better, but it actually makes your school less safe because it creates the illusion of safety when you don't really have it."

In Madison County, North Carolina, each of the six schools that opened on Aug 22 has been stocked with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle in a safe, along with ammunition for use if there is an active shooter, and supplies to provide lifesaving care for anyone injured.

In a Facebook video, Madison County Sheriff Buddy Harwood said, "A deputy armed with a handgun isn't going to stop these animals." He added that only his deputies have the password to the safes.

Meanwhile, a school in Hurlock, Maryland, has incorporated safety design elements, including ballistically-rated office glass and weapons detectors. The school's open design increases sight lines for staff members.

Architect Peter Winebrenner, who helped lead the design, told the local ABC News affiliate that it is now "the hardest it's ever been" to balance school safety with a welcoming learning environment.

New school design must consider the need to protect students against an active shooter threat, while not making them feel as though they are learning inside a prison, he said.

In the wake of the Uvalde shootings, in the Los Angeles school district－the nation's second-largest with more than 600,000 K-12 students (those from kindergarten to the 12th grade)－additional measures to enhance safety on campus were announced by Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.

The district's updated protocol includes measures to reduce the number of entrances on school grounds. By adopting a strategy known as "safe corner", district officials also want to ensure that students, teachers and first responders know the location of the most protected area, in the event of an incident.