How schools are being designed to prevent shootings

Schools are being designed to prevent shootings

What you probably already know: School shootings have become so horrifyingly common in the U.S. that many don’t even make the national news. The rates have risen dramatically throughout the 2000s, with a record 348 shootings in K-12 schools in 2023. There have been 156 already this year. While several states have enacted gun laws in an attempt to curb this trend, U.S. law has barely changed. What has changed, though, is how we design schools.

Why? Architects have begun designing U.S. schools with gun violence in mind. The Wall Street Journal this week dug into the various ways new schools are installing safety features while also attempting to create spaces where students feel less isolated and can create a sense of community.

What it means: The new designs include obvious safety measures such as perimeter fences and gates, three-point buzzer systems at the front door, vestibules where visitors wait to be let in, and lockdown buzzers that seal off chunks of the school. They’re also returning to old systems, like building schools out of cement blocks and other materials not easily penetrated by bullets. Some are even adding wing walls that jut into the hallways so police have natural cover in an active shooter situation.

What happens now? While architects are trying to balance the need for safe spaces with functional and community-focused design, the whole effort can feel a bit like we’re treating the symptoms, not the disease. We’ve already seen that active shooter drills increase depression and anxiety among school students. Imagine if an entire school is built like a compound.